Gravekeeper
by SoraLover1994
Summary: "I wasn't always a Gravekeeper. Far from it. I never wanted to put down restless spirits, or have to protect the pure souls of those that had not yet been corrupted by the darkness of the Nightwalkers. It was a curse. We could no longer interact with our families, or friends... We could only fight in secrecy to ensure that they remained safe."
1. A Night of Malice

**Finally getting this story started! 0_0 I got inspired by AnbaLen's fandub Gravekeeper as well as recently completing an LP of The Walking Dead, and almost instantly got ideas for a Shugo Chara fanfiction, so I decided to put "String of Melodies" (Shugo Chara) and "Destructive Paths" (Final Fantasy VII, sequel to "More Than A Hero") on hold for a while.**

**"Destructive Paths" I put on hold because I haven't had the time to write or even plan out how to rewrite it from chapter 2, and "String of Melodies" is on slight hiatus in terms of writing in my notebook.**

**Anyways, now this is one that is born from one song and its Romanji lyrics. I recommend hearing the song.**

**^_^ I bring you the prologue of Gravekeepers.**

**Don't mind that it's fairly short, I'll try to update soon enough since chapter 1 is in progress.**

* * *

"Hurry up already, or we're going to leave you behind. We have work to do." A boy with blonde hair looked up from the headstone of a grave. On the headstone was the name Rima Mashiro.

"…I've lost a close friend in the midst of all of the chaos brought on by the spirits… She shouldn't have been involved in this…"

"Get to the point."

"Can't I at least have the time to pay my respects to her family?"

"Tadase, listen carefully to what I say… we are Gravekeepers. We are people that are cursed and condemned into a life of battling and protecting the lost spirits of the country. We don't get to interact with others at night, let alone those who are related to victims of the Nightwalkers. People die all the time. That's just it. All that we can do in response is try to protect their souls."

Tadase's eyes darted to the ground. "That's so heartless… How can you say that?! She was… Rima was my…! She was my best friend! You can't sit here and tell me that you haven't felt grief when you lost someone important to you!"

Slowly, he removed the hood from over his head, keeping the black cloak he wore secure over his shoulders. Midnight blue hair fell just past his neck, some hair covering his cold, emotionless azure eyes. "...Losing someone important to me got me here in the first place."

"Ikuto-"

"Never mind it. We still have Nightwalkers to take down. We can't keep the others waiting because of one person's death." The young man known as Ikuto then held out an arm, and a long bladed scythe seeped out from the palm of his hand from the hilt of the weapon downward. Black feathers spewed from the tip of the weapon as Ikuto focused his energy a bit into it.

Tadase looked away from him again. "…I don't trust your intentions any more than I would trust the judgments of our enemies."

"That's a wise choice indeed." He spun the scythe once, and instantly a Nightwalker fell to the ground, its deteriorated body sliced in half. "I'm not exactly the nicest person in the guild." Ikuto charged forward, scythe drawn.

_**I wasn't always a Gravekeeper. Far from it, in fact.**_

_**I never wanted to put down restless spirits, or have to protect the pure souls of those that had not yet been corrupted by the dark souls of Nightwalkers. I'm relatively a veteran of the Gravekeepers because I happened to have the right qualifications to join this guild. Not many of us are scythe wielders, so we're considered rare breeds.**_

One by one, decapitated bodies fell to the ground and then disintegrated. Ikuto's eyes were void of emotions as he cut them down with his scythe.

_**It was a curse. Why was it a curse, you ask?**_

_**Because we are alive through our soul energy, but we are no longer able to walk among the living. It is almost as if we are deceased ourselves.**_

Tadase watched briefly before biting his bottom lip, stifling a cry. He looked back in the direction of his superior, an expression of anger in his light crimson eyes. Then he motioned his hands, reaching out and running his fingers along his back. A large amber staff with dark blue rosary charms along the handle formed from his thoracic vertebrae, and Tadase sighed a bit, a tear dropping down his face.

"…I'm going to avenge you, Rima… For Nagihiko's sake… I promise you that I will."

_**We could not interact with our families, or friends that were not among our rankings. The very moment we wanted to disobey our orders and try to meet with, say, our family members, just in the hopes of telling them that we're alive and well and everything… we get hunted down and executed by our own kind.**_

Blood splattered all about the rotting grasses and tombstones. Tadase continued to fight off the Nightwalkers even as the sunlight dimmed over the Midorizuma Cemetery—their place of work. The sun was finally beginning to rise, and once it had, they would be gone for the time being, eaten away by the sun's rays. And then the guild's top protégés and novices would return to another day of the general reconnaissance, recovery, and then more work.

_**We can never see them again for as long as we remain here.**_

Ikuto glanced back as soon as he heard someone spawn in from behind, and he froze when he caught sight of the silhouette of the person before him. His mouth went dry, and he lost most of the grip he had on the scythe.

_**I was fifteen when I first was scouted by force… and I was only scouted in the first place… because of one girl.**_

Eyes of hazel blankly stared at him from afar, face hidden by the hood over the silhouette's head.

"You…?"

_**One that meant the world to me.**_

* * *

**And so ends the prologue! ^_^**

**Review, please, I'd appreciate it a lot!**


	2. The Girl From Nowhere (Ikuto)

**At long last, I've gotten the first chapter typed! ^_^**

**0_0 It's SO much harder typing without writing it down first, you wouldn't believe it. Still, I'm pretty happy with how it's turning out so far. Hopefully you guys think so too.**

* * *

Chapter 1:

-Ikuto-

**_I was never really fond of people, nor was I ever fond of committing crimes or harming people intentionally. And you know, looking back on it now, it makes you wonder just how I became one of the Gravekeepers, doesn't it? _**

**_ Actually, my life back then wasn't one of complete happiness. At fifteen years old and starting your first year in high school, anyone would have their own problems. There's the sense of finding your own identity and your interests, and there's rebellion above all else. _**

**_That's where I come in. _**

**_I wouldn't really call myself normal despite my background. I was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan with both of my parents, Aruto and Souko Tsukiyomi, and a little sister, Utau Tsukiyomi. My father is a world-renown violinist, and my mother, an incomparable pianist. Utau was only twelve at the time, but she already knew that she wanted to be in the music industry as well, gifted with an elegant Enka-like singing voice. Music… was our family's greatest passion._**

**_Could you imagine a life full of music no matter where you turned?_**

**_It sounds like a charmed life to all of you music fans, right? Well, it isn't when it's all that you have going for you because it's something that your parents want for you. _**

**_Like my father, I was also a talented violinist… but I wouldn't say it was something I wanted to spend the rest of my life trying to make a living off of. So instead of attending concerts and looking to perfect my already flawless sharps and flats, I spent my nights out in Midorizuma Cemetery, playing laments on my violin to the restless souls that had become residents of the pale dirt. It was depressing just to be there, and even more depressing that I always seemed to have dressed for the occasion. _**

**_My old high school uniform was fully black and looked gothic enough alone. I had always worn rosary charms on my shirt collar and a rosary around my neck as symbolism. Then again, it was already my style of choice anyways, and I could easily wear it outside of school. Little did I know, the clothes on my back would hold more behind them than such._**

**_But enough about my past life, it's time that I got to the point._**

**_How did I become a Gravekeeper?_**

**_Well… It all started on the eve of my fifteenth birthday, the second of December._**

* * *

"Oh, you look so handsome, Ikuto~!"

"But mom, why do I have to wear a suit?" Souko beamed a bit as she watched her eldest child tug on the collar of his coat and black tie.

"It makes you look so mature now..." She kissed his forehead. "You're actually fifteen now… It almost makes me wish that you could slow time again… I wish that you could always stay my little boy…"

Ikuto managed to smile at the words a bit, mainly to please her. Don't get him wrong, he loved his parents to death… but things like that tended to be mood killers. He knew that to them, they would always be his parents, and he would always be their 'little boy'.

And now he was fifteen.

Fifteen meant more freedom and more responsibility all at once. He could go out after hours, but he had to be back in the house by eleven. He could make his own decisions, but also have no choice but to look to adults for suggestions on his next move.

Finding no other ways to try and convince her otherwise, he placed a gentle hand on his mother's shoulder. "…We all have to grow up sometime, mom… It just happened to be my time now." Souko didn't look too pleased by his words, and almost instantly Ikuto embraced her as tightly as possible. "I'm sorry… No matter what happens from here, I'm always going to be your son. Okay? I'm not going to go anywhere…"

Souko warmly smiled and then stroked his navy blue locks a bit. "It's perfectly fine, Ikuto… You're right. We always have to grow up… Heh. You're just a lot more stoic than the average teenager, is all. That's why you're going to grow up and be a very strong person." Ikuto was a bit confused. Then again, Souko wasn't always the best with words even though she was highly intelligent.

"…We should probably get downstairs to the party."

"Oh, you have a point! Aruto would be concerned if we ended up being late." Souko reached for Ikuto's hand, and Ikuto moved his hand back at his side, then looked up at her.

"…I'm not a little kid anymore, mom…"

Souko cleared her throat, placing her hands on her hips in what Ikuto thought was her attempt at a saucy attitude. "Oh, I get it. My apologies. I completely forgot that I was speaking to the grown up Ikuto Tsukiyomi now." Ikuto then went to the door and pushed it open.

Outside of his room, he found a young girl with blonde pigtails that cascaded down her back just inching away from the door. She didn't appear much older than about thirteen, even clothed in a white slightly childish dress to add to her supposed charm. The moment her violet eyes interacted with Ikuto's, she lightly blushed.

"…Utau, what are you doing?"

"D-Dad wanted me to come and get you."

"…How long ago did he send you up here to get me?" Ikuto's tone was dry, almost uncaring and insincere. That was how he normally was around his younger sister anyways, when she wasn't being all clingy and irritating. Utau had a deep brother complex. Where it spawned from, no one knew. Aruto always called it a phase, for to him she was his innocent little princess.

"About five minutes ago." Ikuto went past her and then started down the long stairwell.

He glanced up to the pictures on the walls—several portraits of his family members as well as friends of the Tsukiyomi family that he may or may not have remembered much about. Not that he cared about any of those people. To him, they were worthless. All they were there to do was to greet him and then go on about their business with Aruto and or Souko. If they had kids, occasionally, Aruto would want him and Utau to play with them. But instead, Ikuto always found a way to retreat to his violin again while Utau continued to develop into a socialite.

Socialites… they were the ones here to celebrate his birthday at this very moment.

And he would surely give them a hell of a show.

* * *

Aruto Tsukiyomi looked to the flight of stairs as his son casually walked down them. And Ikuto was literally being casual—eyes to the floor, hands in his pockets, shirt no longer tucked into his dress pants, and not a single care to give.

It was beginning to grow too evident that his son was in the peaks of his stage of rebellion, whether it was going to show or not through Ikuto's collective yet unpredictable nature. And damn it, he wasn't going to have it tonight.

Aruto just shook his head at this as he approached the fairly tall teenager. He decided to play things easy. "Ikuto…"

Ikuto glanced up at him with a slightly hazed tint. "Yes, father?"

"Do you think that this is funny?"

Ikuto sighed, and then slowly removed one hand from his pocket, letting it remain at his side. "…Do I think what's funny?"

"You know that you need to keep your shirt in your pants."

"It's uncomfortable, in my defense, and I happened to misplace my belt right before the event." Ikuto's voice was smooth, and anyone who didn't know better would have instantly assumed that he was telling nothing but the truth just from the smug grin on his face.

Aruto wasn't 'anyone'.

"Alright. It's your birthday, so I'll let it slide just this once." Ikuto felt accomplished by this. "Now, there's someone that I would like for you to meet." Ikuto's expression almost instantaneously darkened. "Oh, stop that. Don't look so glum. Come on, it'll just be for a minute, and then you can go off and do whatever you wish."

"…Okay then." Aruto wrapped an arm around Ikuto's shoulders and led him over to a small group. Among them was a boy with a short blonde hair. He didn't look to be much younger than Utau, maybe around the age of ten.

"Ikuto, this is the Hotori family. They have been friends of ours since your mother and I were in college." Out of nowhere, Utau ran up, clinging a bit to Ikuto's arm and grinning. Ikuto slightly glared down at her. "They have a boy a little younger than Utau. This is Tadase." The boy quickly hid behind his mother, peeking out slightly. Ikuto just blinked a few times, staring at him.

"Oh, Tadase, come now." His mother cooed before pulling him out. "No need to be afraid." Tadase looked to Ikuto and Utau again.

"…H-Hello… M-My name is Tadase Hotori, I-I'm a sixth grader…"

**_You see this boy here? I want you to do me a favor and remember him. Why? Because at a time in my life after this, it was hard for me to._**

"I'm Utau Tsukiyomi. This is my big brother, Ikuto~" Utau replied, still clinging to Ikuto's arm a bit. Ikuto managed to jerk his arm free.

"Nice to meet you…" Ikuto mumbled. Tadase was a bit surprised by Ikuto's 'cool' aura, but nonetheless smiled cheerfully at the two.

"Happy birthday to you, Ikuto-niisan." Tadase replied.

Ikuto detested the nickname already. And he already detested this kid's smile even more than the nickname. "…Uh, yeah… Dad, can I go now?" Tadase blinked a few times out of pure shock.

"Ikuto, don't be rude, it's highly impolite." Ikuto gave off yet another hazed look. It nearly made Utau jump out of her skin. Ikuto apologetically bowed a bit to the Hotori family before he walked off in the opposite direction.

* * *

Before he had realized it, Ikuto was outside in the courtyard. He heaved a sigh, taking a walk along the snowy path to the fountain in the center of the area.

There… he found a girl. Sitting there with a dazed expression on her elegant face. Almost as if she was waiting on something. Or someone. Her abnormal pink hair sank just over her golden eyes and fell about three inches past her shoulders, lightly being blown by the cool winter breeze. She was clothed in a pair of black pants and a long-sleeved black shirt, a grey scarf around her neck. How she had gotten into his home or why… he wanted to find out.

"What do you think you're doing?" She slightly gasped before whirling around and facing him. Then she got up from her spot and turned to leave. "Hold on!" Ikuto grabbed her by the wrist, causing her to face him again. She ended up tripping over his shoe and fell into the snow, taking him along with her. Ikuto blinked a few times, realizing at that moment that he practically had her pinned to the ground. A smug grin curved onto her face.

"…I can't believe someone like you can see me…" Ikuto froze as she suddenly manifested a weapon from the bane of her arm. Slowly, a pair of twin 8×22mm Nambu pistols spawned from her bones, and she pointed one at Ikuto's head. "And you're quite handsome. Too bad I have to kill you."

Ikuto heard a shot ring out, and the very instant he shut his eyes so tight that he was afraid that they would burst apart, he noticed that smoke was coming out of the barrel… inches away from his head. It had hit a bush instead. The girl only laughed at him.

"H-Hey! That's not funny; you could have really killed me!" By that time, he was already off of her, sitting in the snow, clutching his pounding heart. "Why didn't you?!" She spun the left pistol in her hand a few times before it vanished, sinking back into the bane of her arm.

"Please. I wouldn't waste a bullet on you, even if you were any sort of criminal or murderer. These things are for Nightwalkers, not some stupid kid looking for freedom."

Ikuto slowly got off of his spot on the snow and almost instantly realized that he stood about an inch or two taller than her… and that she didn't look much younger than he did, roughly about a year younger. "Nightwalkers? What are those?"

"Sorry, I've already told you too much." Then the girl ran for the gate and with one leap, she had reached the highest peak, standing on the ledge. "Sorry to bug you, gotta go!"

"Wait!" She turned around to face him. "…I'm Ikuto. Ikuto Tsukiyomi." She brushed a lock of her strawberry hair out of her face before giving him a smile.

"You can call me Amu." And then she had back-flipped off of the metal gate, onto the ground. Ikuto listened as her footsteps crunched under the white snow until they were too far off in the distance for him to make out. She was heading north. How far north or where her footsteps would lead her from that point onward, he was curious to know.

And he was even more so curious about who this Amu girl was.

* * *

**_I remembered that night well._**

**_The night I first saw Amu, I knew that she was different. And that was before she had tried to put a gun to my head. She had an aura about her that gave off the feel that she was in my presence for a reason unknown to me, but she knew exactly what her agenda was. I knew that she had her own secrets. And I knew that those secrets of hers had to be far from pleasant if she was coming to my home as a secret place of salvation. _**

**_But the moment I looked into her eyes, I saw sorrow and resolve._**

**_Maybe… she knew that she was meant to meet me that day._**

**_I knew from the moment she was out of my sight that I wanted to see her again, and spent all night trying to think of ways to hunt her down. I wanted her to tell me her secrets._**

**_Even if they hurt._**

* * *

Ikuto spent the remainder of the evening performing violin classics under his father's instruction… the only good part about his birthday. Once the party had ended, he decided that he would do a lot better by heading off to Midorizuma Cemetery, as he did every evening after his parents and Utau had cleared out the socialites and gone to bed.

Violin on his back, he flicked on his black Sansa MP3 player and set the earphones in place, putting the MP3 player on shuffle before stuffing it back into his pocket. He tapped his fingers along his belt a bit as the sound of 'Gotta Be Somebody' by Nickelback filled his ears. Honestly, they weren't the best rock band out there by a long shot, but he had to admit, some of their songs were like epic poetry in his classical background. _**{A/N: My own personal thoughts on Nickelback. 0_0 I heard this song for the first time recently, started to like it a lot.}**_

Almost instantly, he thought of him nearly pinning Amu to the ground. And then the thoughts of him being alone in a room full of frozen faces rushed thereafter.

* * *

**_And the moment I reached Midorizuma Cemetery…_**

**_There she was._**

* * *

Amu shielded an attack with one of her pistols, counterattacking by firing silver bullets. Ikuto froze when he realized what her opponent was.

Before her was a headless body. It was rotting from the core of its chest, and Ikuto could literally see the guts and maggots spilling out of it. And the smell…! Don't even get him started on how horrible the smell of the body was. It nearly made him vomit. How was she able to stand it?

Better yet, what was Amu even DOING?

Within seconds, the rotting body was blown off its feet with a few more bullets and crashed into a tombstone, unmoving.

"…What the hell was THAT?!" Ikuto exclaimed, instantly jumping out of his calm and collected nature. Then again, who could blame him when he just witnessed the walking dead?

Amu whirled around and faced him with a stunned expression, her guns vanishing back into the bane of her arms. "W-What are you doing out here?!" Then she shook her head. "Wait a second! You're telling me that you actually saw that Nightwalker?!"

"THAT'S a Nightwalker?! No, no, that thing was something out of The Walking Dead, forget that! What the hell's going on here, and why were you fighting that thing?!"

"Okay, don't panic." Ikuto was about to open his mouth again to speak, but he could feel yells bottling up, and instead a slight whine came out. Amu mentally tried to persuade him not to panic by giving him a certain cold stare. Ikuto sighed. "Okay, listen up, because I'm only gonna say this once. My name's Amu Hinamori… and I am a part of an underground guild called the Gravekeepers."

Ikuto blinked a few times. "Are they some kind of… assassination group or something?"

"You're not that stupid after all; you catch on fairly quickly. The Gravekeepers are a group of underground mercenaries with nowhere else to turn to. Each member of the guild carries a goal or a wish, and the leader of the guild has the ability to grant them without fail. He can make you rich, cure illness… even bring the dead back to life. But there's a catch… Once you make a wish, there's no way to be released from the guild's bind."

"Why are you in the guild?"

"…That's for me to know and you to find out." Once again, Amu drew her pistols, pointing one up at the night sky. "You should probably head home now, Ikuto, before you end up attracting more Nightwalkers. They love souls like yours…"

"…What do you mean 'souls like mine'?"

"Please… Just go… Get as far away from Midorizuma Cemetery as possible, right now." Amu replied, almost too serious. Ikuto nodded a bit before backing up.

"…See ya around then, Amu..."

And then he exited the cemetery, watching with intent eyes as more Nightwalkers began to surround her. Amu's eyes darkened a bit as she let out a few deep breaths, then she wildly began firing round after round at the Nightwalkers, dodging every attack that came her way. Ikuto's eyes widened. He wasn't going to look away now, not when her skills were shining brightest. As silver bullets fell to the dirt, Amu then leapt on top of a larger tombstone and molded the two pistols together, forming a larger Blunderbuss gun. She loaded the gun, then back-flipped off of the tombstone and two large silver bullets came flying out, exploding on impact. Once she had landed on the ground again, all of the creatures had exploded behind her. Ikuto didn't even blink.

"Well, that was a great workout. Maybe it's time I turned in for the night now." Just as Amu was about to walk off, she heard the sound of violin off not too far away. She turned around and noticed Ikuto standing in the spot where the Nightwalkers once were, an elegant yet melancholic tune flowing from his adult-sized violin. Amu slowly let the pistol fade away before turning her back on Ikuto again, absorbing the sound for herself. Ikuto glanced over at her slightly before smirking, continuing to play. "You play violin, huh?"

"I always come here at night, to play laments for the dead." Ikuto began reaching the pizzicato of his violin. "Call it what you want… it's something I've always done…" Amu managed a smile as her back remained turned to him.

"…Is that so…? Maybe, just maybe, you could be of some use to me after all then…"

**_ And just like that…_**

**_Everything involving me with the Gravekeepers began._**

* * *

**And that's that. ^_^ Well... Not much to say except...**

**Stay tuned! Read, review... flame! Support, love, hope, dash, Ikuto! XD**


	3. One That I Loved (Ikuto)

**Whoo, I FINALLY got this chapter up and running. Just finished typing it all up last night. ^_^**

**0_0 I had some real fun with this one... and I did some unexpected things, unless you read the prologue accordingly. I got to execute more Amuto, and introduce more characters...**

**^_^ Well, anyways, I hope you enjoy!**

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Chapter 2:

-Ikuto-

_**Every night since the time we first met, around two in the morning, long after my family had gone to bed and I had slept for enough time, Amu came back to the fountain… And I would always be there waiting for her, violin on my back. As usual, Amu and I would walk to the Midorizuma Cemetery, and Amu would begin her work killing off the Nightwalkers. Once she was certain that they had all been put down, she would instruct me to play a lament for the lost souls.**_

_** We wouldn't talk much after that, because she would always send me home or say that she had to head back to the guild. That procedure went on for about two months before I finally decided that I wanted to see Amu's real personality.**_

_** So in the light of mid- February, Amu and I interacted again. I was going to get her to say more than a few words to me again. In this time alone, I had deduced one thing only.**_ _**Amu was like a puzzle—she was hard to put together when you didn't focus enough on her needs and her actions.**_

"…So, what are we after today?"

"What kind of question is THAT? We're going after Nightwalkers, as usual. Don't be stupid."

_**In one sentence, I was already starting to blow it, and I knew I needed to come up with something better to say somehow.**_

"…Hey, Amu. Can I ask you something?"

"You just did." Amu replied. Ikuto just glared at her. "I'm kidding. Shoot."

"Do you ever take breaks from working? Like, do you ever go back to your family for the holidays or anything?" Amu stopped walking.

"…I don't get the option to leave the guild for any reason. Say for instance… my parents and my little sister died in an accident while I was still on duty. I couldn't be allowed to go to help my family members care for the remains." Ikuto was stunned. "And as far as everyone in my family assumed about me…" She looked up at him and smiled. "I'm practically already dead to them."

_**I could see the tears she was holding back. Through that smile, she was carrying such a heavy burden. She couldn't even see her family when they died. I knew her feelings somehow… because I knew that she felt alone in the cruelties of her world.**_

"But you're not alone." Ikuto exclaimed suddenly, causing Amu to glance up at him. Ikuto reached out and took her by the hand, pulling her into a tight embrace, ultimately taking her by surprise. "You hear me…? You'll never be alone again, Amu… Not so long as I'm alive. I swear it." Amu gradually leaned into his touch, even wrapped her own arms around his neck and buried her face into his chest. "…Do you want to come somewhere with me?"

"B-But my job-"

"I'm sure they won't notice if a few Nightwalkers roam about the graves for a night. Someone else can take care of it, right?"

"…Maybe you're right. I'm sure that the leader won't notice if it's just for one night." Ikuto didn't let go of Amu's hand once as he led her off, further past the Midorizuma Cemetery. Amu glanced over at the site for a bit and then clung to Ikuto's arm slightly.

* * *

After some time, Ikuto and Amu came to a large field, Ikuto now grabbing Amu by both hands and leading her into the flowers. "These flowers are special. They continue to grow here, even though it's winter, and they usually die… These flowers hide from the snow. The Tama River is just past here, and it flows all the way down to Kanagawa. It's an incredible place at night, when the tides aren't active." Amu gasped slightly. "Don't worry. The moon's not out, so there shouldn't be any water rising."

"Oh… I guess that's good then…" Ikuto moved through some bushes and once he had reached the end of the path, he grabbed Amu's hand and pulled her over slightly.

"Look here." Amu peeked out and when she caught sight of the river, she couldn't find words anymore. The light from the shimmering stars reflected onto the water, and the trees lightly blew in the winter breeze. The leaves were gradually starting to grow back, and Amu could only smile at the budding pink flowers. "What do you think?"

"It's one of the grandest views I've ever seen…" Amu breathed.

"Really? Then you don't get out nearly enough, because this is actually one of the duller parts of Tokyo if you ask me." Amu was stunned by Ikuto's response. Then when she turned to face him, she met cerulean eyes that shone like the moon. "I wanna show you something else now around here. It only happens on moonless nights like this… I'd call it a hidden talent of mine."

"…You have more talents?"

"You'll see." He took her by the hand, grinning. "Come on! I'll show you!" Before Amu could retaliate, Ikuto had pulled her up and raced through the trees, back to the field of flowers.

"Why are we all the way back in the field?"

Ikuto set his violin case down in the flowers, then opened it and pulled out his ever-familiar violin. Then he gently tuned the pizzicato of the violin before properly positioning himself. Amu blinked a few times.

"Take a seat. You're about to have your own private concert." Amu immediately took a seat in the flowers. Ikuto smiled gently at her before beginning to play the nostalgic tune of Canon in D. Amu gradually took in the feel of the peaceful and jumpy sound, slowly closing her eyes. Then Ikuto opened one eye and looked to her.

As the music began jumping about more and more, the flower petals behind him gradually began lifting into the sky from the light breeze. Amu slowly opened her eyes and got bewildered when she noticed the petals were practically dancing around him. Ikuto's face softened a bit more. She got to her feet and ran over to Ikuto, still stunned. Ikuto continued to play.

"H-How-…Are you really doing that?!"

Ikuto chuckled a bit. "I told you. It's a talent. I just happen to be that good at playing violin. Flowers and anything else in nature are like music notes… They flow to an elegant sound. And the musician that is controlling them… plays and dances only for his muse."

_**It was at that moment that I realized just how much I wanted to be with Amu.**_

_** I had finally chosen a muse in her. I had chosen someone very special to me, someone who I felt that I could play for—someone that I could share everything with.**_

Amu gently wrapped her arms around Ikuto's neck, burying her face in his chest. "Really…?"

"Really. I have something for you, Amu." Ikuto reached into his back pocket and pulled out a necklace. It had a silver chain with a pink heart-shaped locket hanging from it. Carefully, he put it around her neck, smiling a bit. "Do you like it? It took me a while to find it, but I think pink suits you." Amu stared at it for a moment before a frown pursed her lips.

"…Please try to understand this… I really care about you, Ikuto…" Ikuto felt heat creeping up onto his cheeks. "But this is something that I can't accomplish anymore."

"But why?!" She broke away, and then shifted backwards, still facing him.

"…You wouldn't understand why. No one would. That's why I need to stop now, before I get myself too deeply involved…" As Amu was prepared to turn and walk away, Ikuto grabbed her by the arm. The very moment she turned around and faced him again, he gently pressed his lips up against hers. Amu snaked her arms around his neck and kissed him again. She pulled away seconds later, practically flailing, blushing, and Ikuto cleared his throat a bit. Amu quickly grew stunned by her own actions. "I-I… I have to go!" Then she broke out of Ikuto's grip, racing off in the opposite direction.

Ikuto slowly closed his hand into a fist as she gradually faded from his sight. The wind grew ever colder as it danced through his midnight locks.

"…Happy Valentine's Day, Amu…"

_**I didn't see Amu much again after that happened, not for a few days anyways. I spent the entire night thinking about where she went after her missions and how she reacted to my words.**_

_** …I had to know.**_

* * *

Amu returned to her section well into the early hours of the morning. However, just as she was about to enter her room with the thoughts that she had gotten away scot-free… she felt a knife point to her back and froze. She whirled around, and there stood a boy with a buzz-cut.

"…Boss man's been worried about you, Hinamori."

"W-What do you mean, Yugaku? W-Why would the boss be worried about me, did I do something wrong?"

"I don't know. Why don't you confess to me where you've been all day?"

"Huh, perhaps I can… Maybe, just maybe after you can learn how to stop liking cute figurines." Yugaku blushed furiously at her words.

"I HAVE A WEAKNESS FOR CUTE THINGS!" As soon as he spoke, Amu had pointed one of her Nambu pistols directly at his chest. Yugaku froze when he felt the icy bottle mere inches from his heart. And then he looked up at Amu—her eyes were dark, almost as if she had really intended to kill him at that very moment.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you never to bring a knife to a gun fight?"

"Y-You can't kill me without having an order to do so from the boss! T-T-T-That's considered a high treason!"

"It's also known as self-defense, given you threatened me. Now, I suggest you walk away, and we both pretend that this conversation never happened. If the boss asks you again… I was out late finishing up my rounds. Because that's exactly what I did tonight." Then Amu went back into her room. Yugaku backed up and then ran off.

It was about five in the morning when Amu was abruptly woken up to her bedroom door being broken in. Literally. Before she could have a chance to retort or draw her weapons, she was grabbed by her arms by two larger men and dragged out of the room. Her screams did nothing in leading to her freedom from their tight grasps, and even though other guild members had long since noticed her, she was nonetheless taken away.

A young man with spiked light brown hair glanced over at Amu, his eyes saddening a bit as she kicked and screamed while being carried away from the area. He knew that there wasn't much that he could do for her anymore.

* * *

Before long, Amu found herself handcuffed to a chair, facing a large desk. She glared at the person that had turned their back to her.

"Boss, what the hell is your problem?!"

"I've been gathering information pertaining to your wrongdoings, Miss Hinamori." Amu wanted to laugh as a ruse, but just as she had opened her mouth, he slapped down a pile of photographs. Amu froze when she realized that they were pictures of her and Ikuto together—right down to the moment that Ikuto had kissed her. The dates were highlighted at the bottom. Today. "I'd like an explanation."

Amu folded her left leg over her right and leaned back a bit. Then, she finally did get out that laugh she had been wanting. "Man, whoever took those photographs out there, they deserve a promotion… because that is some top quality information you caught on me." Her boss didn't look amused. "All right, all right, you've caught me. I have a friend living outside of these walls."

"It seems to me like this boy is much more than a simple friend. As a matter of fact, now that I notice it… I have seen this boy's face somewhere before…"

"He's the son of Aruto Tsukiyomi. And I'm not…" She tugged on the handcuffs once, and her left arm got free. "About to let you…" She tugged, and then her right arm got free as well. The moment she went free, she pointed her Nambu pistols at him. "Even so much as TOUCH him!"

Then her boss sighed, and from his right arm spawned a long red and black scythe—still scorned in blood. "I detest putting blood on my own hands… but in this case… I don't mind ending the life of someone who betrayed the Gravekeepers."

Before Amu could even blink, the scythe came directly at her at intense speed. She managed to duck down, but gasped when she noticed that the weapon had still cut her shoulder. She glanced at the wound, then at her boss. He caught the scythe back in his right hand, and got up from his seat. Amu then realized… he wasn't who he seemed.

The leader of the guild was a child. A child even younger than she was.

"…What…?" She only examined his appearance. He didn't look older than about seven, and had short blonde hair. He looked… innocent. But he was far from it. The scythe he wielded stood about three feet taller than him, which only made him look more intimidating. He tossed aside the voice modulator he had possession of. "You're nothing but a brat…!"

A sharp grin pursed his lips. "Brat? I wouldn't say that. I am your boss, after all. You could show a little more respect, Miss Hinamori."

"Like hell I'm gonna do that, you-!" Then the scythe came at her again, knocking one of the guns to the floor. Amu scrambled for it, but just as she had reached for it, she felt the scythe slice her back and let out a painful shriek, falling to the floor.

"Oh, now you've made a mess…"

Blood covered the once grey floors, splattered onto the grey walls… and Amu just stared at the pool of blood under her. All it did was make her think back to the death of her parents and sister…

And it made her feel guilty for lying to Ikuto about their true deaths.

She tried to move… she couldn't just stay here… she had to tell him the truth… She had to tell him everything he wanted to know. About her, about her family… about the Gravekeepers and what kind of people that they really are.

"Iku… to…"

"You really think that he'll try to come for you? He wouldn't even be able to get through the front door, let alone to this room. How much trust do you have in this boy? …Would you even go so far to tell him about what you are?"

Amu then reached for her pistol, and quickly fired off a single round that knocked the scythe backwards. The metal blade stuck into the wall. Then she fired off another round at her boss, who dodged quickly. Just as he was reaching for the scythe, Amu broke the window in his office and then ran for it. He grabbed the scythe, and Amu jumped out, just barely dodging the weapon. He ran for the window as she was falling and glanced out, wide-eyed.

"No one could survive a twenty-story drop like that…" Quickly, he grew infuriated. "SECURITY! I NEED SOMEONE TO DO TRACKING FOR ME! RIGHT NOW!"

* * *

It was February 21st.

Ikuto sat atop one of the larger tombstones, playing a lament as usual. He tried to maintain focus, but all that came to his mind was Amu. Where could she have been, what was she doing at this very moment? He noticed some Nightwalkers submit to the sound of his music and eventually crumble to pieces, his eyes going wide. He had potential—he had some sort of power that he hadn't once exerted until she had come into his life.

Then he noticed another group of Nightwalkers begin distancing themselves from the Midorizuma Cemetery. They were following something…

Someone.

Ikuto traced their destination from above before he finally decided to shift past them and make his way over to their source. Just outside of the cemetery was a body, which Ikuto had not yet confirmed whether or not this person was living or deceased, but he knew for certain that he had seen that pink hair somewhere before.

"Amu?" He raced over, and sure enough it was her—covered head to toe in blood, spewing from her back. She had one of her guns gripped in her right hand. "Amu! Amu, are you okay?! Wake up!" She was still breathing, though labored. He took her by the hand, placing it over his cheek. "Cold…"

_**I knew that these wounds hadn't come from the Nightwalkers. They were cuts—cuts from a metal blade. A sword, maybe even a scythe… I wasn't sure at the time, but I knew that someone other than the Nightwalkers was after her.**_

He could hear the Nightwalkers' moans from behind, and froze up, glancing back at the creatures. They were coming closer and closer to them. They could smell Amu's blood. Ikuto panicked, grabbing Amu's gun from her hand and pointing it over at the Nightwalkers. The icy metal Nambu trembled in his hands. He tried to form words with his lips, to no avail. As one pounced at him, he fired a round, immediately killing off the Nightwalker. The recoil knocked him onto his back, and he practically staggered to get back to his feet. He couldn't keep this up for long.

Acting quickly, he lifted Amu off of the ground, covering her body with his jacket, gun still gripped in his own right hand. And then he ran.

But where could he run to anymore?

_**The only place that was left to run to with her… was my home.**_

* * *

Ikuto climbed through his bedroom window, and once he had reached the top, he gently laid Amu's unconscious body on his bed, turned over on her stomach. He sighed, then ran for his bathroom, grabbing a first aid kit—his mother always made him and Utau keep one handy in case they needed it. After closing the window and locking his bedroom door, he sat down next to her and began tending to the wounds on her back. No one was going to disturb them this time.

After Amu's wounds had been properly cleaned and bandaged to the best of Ikuto's ability, he covered her trembling body with some of his blankets, gently taking her by the hand.

_**I didn't move from that spot in the room once during the entire night, well into the morning. I didn't even bring it upon myself to go downstairs for food. I think Utau came for me once, but I told her that I didn't want to be bothered. She couldn't see me in a breaking point like this. **_

_**No one could.**_

_**Around mid-afternoon, Amu had finally warmed up enough from being outside, but then spiked a high fever from the blood loss. It made me terrified at first, but I managed to build up what strength I had left to keep caring for her. I didn't leave her side once except to constantly run to the bathroom and wet the towel I kept over her forehead.**_

_**For the first time, I had seen Amu's most vulnerable position… and for the first time, I felt like I could make a difference in someone's time of need. I wanted to keep her around so badly…**_

"Iku… to…" Ikuto snapped out of his concentration, and glanced down at her with wide eyes. Golden eyes appeared a bit distant, but still locked on him.

"Amu? Y-You're awake? Are you okay, do you need anything?" Amu immediately sat up, and Ikuto tried to compose her, but she turned him down by simply holding up a hand.

"Listen, I really need to tell you something… It's about the Gravekeepers." Ikuto blinked a few times at this. "They're the ones who did this—these injuries. They caused that. I'm not allowed to interact with people like you, so-"

"What do you mean 'people like me'?"

"Just listen!" Ikuto went silent. "The Gravekeepers aren't just normal mercenaries. They will LITERALLY start taking out people among them if some balance is taken out of the equation. That includes me. Ikuto… they're out for blood. My blood. And-"

"Amu, don't worry about them. I swear that I'll keep you safe from them."

_**It felt like something that any prince would say to his princess, and those types of things were out of my character… but at that moment, playing the prince to Amu was one of the most honest things I had done to her.**_

"…Ikuto, there's more… The Gravekeepers recruit based on potential… And I think that they'll be coming for you soon. But to do that… they would need to bind your soul to a weapon."

"…I'm confused."

"They'll KILL you if they find you. Your original body will no longer exist and be instead tied to a weapon fitting your soul. That soul will be forever bonded to the Gravekeepers… That's exactly what happened to me, and to all of the other members."

"Wait, wait, WAIT… Then… you're actually…?" Amu just stared at him for a bit before nodding slowly. Ikuto slowly shook his head, gripping her hand tighter and tighter each passing second. "No. You're right here with me… you're not dead. I refuse to believe that. It can't be true."

"Listen to me, Ikuto… I need to leave you alone from now on-"

"No, Amu, please don't leave me, not like this…" Ikuto wrapped his arms around her, and Amu froze when she felt his body trembling around her tiny form. He slightly gripped her shoulders. "Amu… Let's leave Japan, for good. Let's leave Japan and get as far away from the Gravekeepers as possible, just the two of us. I want to be with you… only you... Please…" Ikuto looked down at Amu again, and at that moment, he saw tears rolling down her face.

_**The first time I ever saw Amu cry… It made me want to start crying too, but I couldn't dare do it so easily. One of us had to be the stronger one right now. I had to be that one.**_

"…Let's go. Right now…"

"Right now? Amu, no, we can't… You're sick, you need to-"

"…I want to leave right now… If they find me here, they'll…" She grasped his hand in her own tightly. "Please, Ikuto, we have to go right now, we can't afford to stay here too long…"

Ikuto just stared at her for a bit. "Amu…"

"Don't take anything but what money you have and your violin with you… Those are all that you'll need from here now… That's all that we'll need…"

Ikuto nodded a bit before going through his dresser, pulling out a wallet with music notes on it. "…All right."

* * *

Ikuto carried Amu on his back through the area, his jacket covering her. His violin case was in his hand. She couldn't help but sigh at his actions. "You know, I can walk on my own…"

"I know. You're a strong person, and you've fought a lot of battles of your own. But it doesn't matter, because I'm not going to let you overexert yourself any more than you already have. You do still have a fever, you know." Amu rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes.

"Hey, Ikuto… what's your dream? To be a world-famous violinist?" Ikuto only sighed.

"No… That's my dad's dream for me. You see, he's a famous violinist in the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, for both his looks and his articulate skill with his violin. I happened to have my dad's looks too, and I was trained since I was a lot younger to play violin. Though, I'll admit that I do love music… and I also love my dad."

"I can understand that much…" Then Amu thought for a moment. "Ikuto, hear me out when I say this… I lied to you about something important."

"What do you mean? Lied about what?"

"…The Gravekeepers… they killed my family. My parents found out that they were after me, and tried to flee from Japan… but we didn't get very far. The very instant we tried to enter the highway… one of their agents cut us off, ran the car off of the cliff, and killed everyone. They put my soul into a pair of pistols and brought my body back to life."

"…Don't worry. It won't happen again. Whether you're alive or not, you're still right here with me. Right?"

"I guess so. Thank you, Ikuto." Ikuto began trekking through the Midorizuma Cemetery—a shortcut to the other side of the city. There and then they would be safely able to break away from all ties of the Gravekeepers.

"That's as far as you go, Ikuto Tsukiyomi." Ikuto whirled around and spotted a man with orange hair tied into a ponytail. He froze when he noticed the man point a sword—a Demon's Tooth—at him. "Drop the girl and I'll happily spare you."

"Nikaidou?" Amu hissed.

"Amu, you know this guy?"

"He's Yuu Nikaidou—he's the most skilled sword wielder in the Gravekeepers." Amu leapt off of Ikuto's back and then drew one of her Nambu pistols. "He would send YOU of all people."

"Of course. You ARE the most skilled female gunman on the force. You'd need someone on your level to match you." Amu smirked.

"So, it's a fight to the death you want? Well, come on over here and get it!" Amu charged forward, firing round after round at him.

"Amu!" Ikuto exclaimed, hand extended out towards her.

Nikaidou blocked the bullets with his blade, and slashed through them. Amu ducked down under the blade and brought up one of the guns. Nikaidou caught on to her preemptive attack and gripped his sword, spinning it behind his back and striking the gun out of her hand and towards Ikuto. As soon as Amu had lost the gun, Nikaidou slashed at her, striking her chest. Amu let out a yell as she fell to the ground. Ikuto's cerulean eyes went so wide that they could have fallen from the sockets. As she prepared to get up, Nikaidou pointed the blade at her throat.

"Honestly, I thought that you would be more of a challenge to be so strong… Or has being with that boy softened you up?" Amu glared at him, clutching her wound, in clear pain.

_**Blood was seeping between her fingers. All of her bandaged wounds had reopened when she had attacked Nikaidou at high speed. **_

"Aw, either way, it was nice seeing that you have some speed in you, Himamori."

"My name is HINAMORI, dammit!"

"Eh, doesn't matter, names aren't usually remembered in the Gravekeepers anyhow." Nikaidou grinned sheepishly. "Nice meeting you again." Then he pulled back the sword. Just as he was about to strike Amu a second time, a shot rang out. Nikaidou froze. Then seconds later, a whole magazine of bullets was emptied out into his back. Amu let out a slight gasp.

Ikuto gripped the Nambu in his hand until it turned blood red, panting a bit.

Nikaidou slowly glanced back at him before coughing up blood, dropping to his knees and then sticking his sword in the ground. "D-Damn…!" He held onto it for dear life with tears in his eyes before he finally lost his grip and collapsed into his pool of blood, dead.

"…Whoa… I actually took him down…"

Amu breathed out shakily, slowly getting to her feet before her body swayed a bit. "Iku… to…" She was collapsing back to the ground, coughing harshly.

"Amu!" Ikuto dropped the Nambu and ran over to Amu's aide, catching her in his arms just before her head had hit the ground. Blood was streaming past her lips, and she was going in and out of consciousness. He knelt down on one knee, holding her close. "Amu, talk to me, please…!"

She slowly looked up at him, cracking a small grin. "…You know… Of… all people I could… have met… I'm so grateful… that it was you… Ikuto…" Ikuto tried to clean her wounds frantically, but she gently took him by the hand. It was as cold as ice, shocking Ikuto a bit. "Don't…"

"What? Why not?"

"It's too late… all my wounds… are reopened anyways…"

"Amu, stop it, please don't talk like that! I-I can help you, I can get you to a doctor and-"

"You're so hopeful… I always… loved that… But I'm not… going to last anymore…" She slowly reached up and caressed his cheek with her right hand. "Such passion in those eyes… I hope… they always remain…" Ikuto slowly shook his head, tears dropping down his face. Amu was a bit surprised.

"…What am I supposed to do without you…?"

Amu's hand went a bit limp, but Ikuto caught it, gripping it as tightly as possible. She gave him a serious look, but Ikuto could easily see the pain in her face. "…Live on..." Ikuto broke down crying, his entire body trembling as he held on to her. "…You're so much stronger… than I am… so please… don't cry anymore…"

Ikuto couldn't stop… he couldn't bear to stop crying now. The Gravekeepers were taking her life away, taking away the slim chances of having a life together with her. They were going to ruin his life in the process. In two months, he had met her, gotten to know her, and fallen in love too quickly… and in the blink of an eye, it was all going to be stripped from him.

"Amu… Amu, PLEASE don't leave me…!"

Amu just sighed a bit at this. "I'll… tell you my dream now, Ikuto… I wanted to free them—to free my friends from the hell that place has brought upon us…" Ikuto looked up at her, and a tear fell onto her face. "Can I… ask you a favor…?"

"Anything. W-What is it that you want, Amu? I'll do backflips off of the tombstones, I-I'll sing, I'll kill something for you, I'll literally do anything."

"…Play me a song…" Amu gathered up the last of her strength to form the sentence properly. "Play me just one more song…" Ikuto found the request to be a bit odd, but nonetheless, he gently set her down and then grabbed ahold of his violin in the case. He stood not too far away from her, watching over her.

"Is… this really all that you want…?"

She looked over at him and weakly smiled. "Ikuto… I love you…"

Ikuto felt his heart jump a beat the moment he heard those words come out of her mouth. "…I love you too, Amu… always know that."

Ikuto calmly began to play the violin version of the tune to "Puzzle", a piece he had always loved hearing when working on something other than violin. He maintained a high percentage of composure despite the situation. He had to put on a strong face for Amu…

_**For four straight minutes, I played that still memorized tune for her... When I thought of the lyrics to the actual song, she came to mind perfectly…**_

_**There wasn't anything left that I could do for her right now. This was her last request for me…**_

_**And as I played a concert for her one final time…**_

Ikuto finished the song and then glanced over at Amu. "…How was that…?" Her eyes were closed. "Amu? D-Did you hear me?" Her hand fell at her side, onto the grass. Ikuto slowly reached up, covering his mouth and then sobbed a second time, dropping to his knees. "DAMMIT!"

_**She left me, silently and peacefully. **_

Her eyes were closed, and she wouldn't wake up anymore no matter how many times Ikuto shook her or called out to her. Ikuto had laid her head down on his lap, gently stroking her soft pink hair with his right hand and gripping her hand with his left, an expression of blank emotion on his face.

_**We could have had a life together… We could have eventually grown up in another country, maybe even get married and started a family, then grown old together… I had thought that far ahead in time with her. And now she was gone, just like that.**_

_**But I knew something that I could do.**_

From behind him, he could hear footsteps approaching fast enough. As soon as he heard a gun being pointed at him, his eyes darkened completely, but he didn't turn around. Instead, his midnight blue hair sunk over his eyes.

"Come quietly… Ikuto Tsukiyomi." Slowly, he rose both of his arms as a sign of surrender, but didn't move from his spot. When he glanced back, he saw the shocked face of a boy not much younger than him with somewhat spiked brown hair and emerald eyes. He had to have known Amu. He was accompanied by a boy with extremely long purple hair carrying what looked like some sort of interesting looking dual-bladed naginata, who appeared to be equally in shock.

"Oh my god… Amu, no…" The purple-haired boy breathed out, covering his mouth afterwards, tears filling his eyes. The brown-haired boy just slowly shook his head at this, knowing that one of them had to be strong.

"…Come on, Nagihiko… Pull it together… We have to finish the job…"

"But Kukai… A-Amu is really-"

"I know. But we have to do this… We can grieve together later…" The one known as Kukai continued pointing the gun at Ikuto. "Get up, you're coming with us."

Ikuto slowly lifted Amu's body off of his lap, holding her in his arms bridal style. Not once did he look back up at the two boys. "…What are you planning to do with me?"

"We've been ordered to take you into custody by the head of the Gravekeepers. Now come quietly or I'll shoot!"

Ikuto walked over to the two, but lightly brushed off of Kukai's shoulder before speaking in response to his comments. "…You don't have to give me such empty threats. If you want to shoot me, go ahead. I don't have much else to live for."

_**But maybe I had.**_

Kukai bit his lip at this, trying to form words. Then in an instant, his face had darkened to a much higher degree. "…Sorry to burst your bubble then, buddy, but I tend to follow orders. I'm not supposed to kill you… even if you did get Amu killed."

"Stop acting like I'M the one that killed her…" Ikuto hissed. "You wanna blame someone to feel better about yourself, you should blame your damn BOSS!"

"WALK!" Kukai roared. Reluctantly, Ikuto obeyed, but not before Kukai pointed the gun again. "And leave Amu's body here!" Ikuto froze at this. Kukai's voice calmed again. "Nagihiko… I want you to lay her to rest here. I'll be back here later on."

"M-Me?"

"Yes." Kukai took Amu's body from Ikuto, and then handed her to Nagihiko. Nagihiko's eyes saddened immensely as he gazed down at her face. Ikuto was distraught, just staring at her with tears once again filling his eyes. Kukai pressed the gun to his back. "Don't just stand around! GO!"

And Ikuto walked with the gun to his back.

_**I made a new dream—I wasn't going to come close to the music industry like my family anymore. I was going to take down the Gravekeepers on my own. **_

_**I was going to have my revenge no matter what… for my sake, and for Amu's.**_

* * *

_**After being captured by the members of the Gravekeepers, I was taken directly to the head of the guild. I was shocked to find that the leader was nothing but a child… a boy that didn't look older than about the age of seven.**_

"So, you're the infamous Ikuto Tsukiyomi. Funny, I expected you to be much taller and older…" Ikuto shot the child a death glare.

"I could say the same about you."

"Further… do you understand the charges you have against you? You caused the death of two of my most prized fighters… you indirectly made contact with one, even got her to fall in love with you. That is against our rule—those among the Gravekeepers are unable to interact with humans. And now, because of you… Amu Hinamori is dead." Ikuto sprang from his chair in attempts to choke the boy, only to be held back by the two guards of the leader's. The boy smirked. "I can fully understand your pain. However, at the same time, I don't care. She is not that necessary to the survival of the guild anyways."

"How can you even SAY something like that?! Amu deserved to live as much as anyone else out there! And you took it from her! You stole her precious life away in the blink of an eye!" Ikuto could feel tears striking his face as he yelled. "YOU TOOK HER FROM ME!"

"Hold him down." The boy held out an arm in front of Ikuto's face, and a long red and black scythe seeped out of his right arm. "I'll need a clean cut—I wouldn't want to stain the metal."

Ikuto's body shook a bit from the sight of the weapon. "W-What are you doing?"

"Don't you see, Ikuto? Everyone in this guild… is nothing more than a servant under me. If I lose one or even two members, I can easily just replace them based on their potential levels. All of them are higher than average, some even marked as prodigies…"

"…Prodigies…?" Ikuto began. "T-Then was Amu-?"

"Correct. Amu was one of those prodigies. She was literally the best gunman in the guild despite being a female with no background of brawling or even a background on firing a gun. She caught on much more quickly than those entering at the same level she had. She got to higher ranks among the force much more swiftly as well."

Ikuto bit his lip. He knew Amu was strong, but one of the strongest females in the guild? …He didn't want to question how he had gotten ahold of such a woman. "…Sexy."

"And as for you… you have a very high percentage over your head. She doesn't even compare to you in terms of potential." Ikuto scoffed slightly, glaring up at the blonde-haired boy, who only responded with a heinous grin. "And so, in exchange for their lives now…" He pulled the scythe back.

**Welcome to the Gravekeepers, Ikuto Tsukiyomi.**

The words echoed through his mind repeatedly, and Ikuto felt his life flash before his eyes. He saw his parents, the parties, the fun everyone BUT him had been having, Utau, the snowy fountain in his backyard, various people he had encountered… Meeting Amu near the fountain… Seeing her face for the first time… Being tackled to the ground by her… Giving Amu the necklace… Playing violin for her… Fighting alongside her… and Amu dying right in front of him.

"NO!" Ikuto shut his eyes tightly as the scythe came flying at him and sliced his neck.

* * *

_**I awoke several hours later in what appeared to be an infirmary. The entire area was bathed in white—even the bed sheets and headboard was cream-colored and nearly hurt my eyes. The windows were closed, and I hated not being able to feel the winter breeze. I didn't question how long I had been asleep, nor how I had ended up here, only shaking my head trying to figure out what I was supposed to do from here.**_

_**Running my fingers along every visible part of my body to make sure that nothing else was out of sorts, I discovered that my neck was bandaged up completely, but I felt no pain in that area of my body whatsoever. But I knew what had happened just before I got here. **_

_**I had been beheaded by the head of the Gravekeepers guild. And somehow, I was still alive… I pulled the bandages away from my neck and cautiously ran my fingers along it.**_

_**No scars had remained. Something was very wrong with that picture, because I was almost positive that I was cut down with that scythe. My own LIFE had flashed before my eyes… and I remembered feeling the cut, and feeling like I was going to die.**_

_**Maybe I **_**wasn't **_**alive. **_

_**Maybe my body had just been reanimated somehow…**_

_**I had turned to my left and noticed a large stack of paperwork sitting on the tabletop. My name and photograph were on the top cover. Scanning over some of the contents for myself, I had realized that I was a member of the guild now. They had all the paperwork filled out completely… And there was no way I could break out of their contracts.**_

_**I remembered that Amu stated that her soul was bound to a weapon when she was killed. **_

_**Reluctantly with a shrug, I stretched out my left arm, and blade first, out came a large scythe, black feathers spewing out from the tip of the weapon. It was silver and lavender with a wing shaped blade. With a fierce look, I gazed upon my weapon of choice.**_

_**It hadn't been a coincidence that it was granted to me. **_

_**I was never going to be the same terrified of the world, cautious and stoic person again after that. I was going to kill them… I would kill off everyone that caused her harm, no matter what it took.**_

* * *

**...Yep, that's right, I killed off the main character of the entire series. 0_0 How do you like me now, ? I killed Amu. In the second chapter. But at least now Ikuto won't be OOC anymore. XD**

**I had some real fun making the scenes of Amu/Ikuto though, it's gotten better over time.**

**^_^ Please, read and review!**


	4. Past, Yet Not Passed (Nagihiko)

**Whoot, chapter 3 is finally done! AND I'm starting work on chapter 4 now, promise! 0_0**

**I think this chapter was more so an introduction to what the Gravekeepers are about, and giving Nagihiko a chance in the spotlight. Nagihiko happens to be one of my favorite characters-Actually, the main three right now are my favorite guys in Shugo Chara.**

**Kukai, Nagihiko, and Ikuto. Yep. They're the big three for right now.**

* * *

Chapter 3:

-Nagihiko-

_**I never once imagined that I would have to bury my best friend at age fourteen. I loved Amu to death… There was so much more that the two of us needed to learn to do together, and to think that now she was dead... it was hard to even imagine. **_

_**She was… completely perfect in my eyes. Strong, skilled, elegant in her fighting and in her appearance… but she made the mistake of falling in love with the wrong person.**_

_** And now I stand alone in Midorizuma Cemetery, staring at a grave with no name engraved on the headstone. The only way any of us mourners could find it again is because I left a Sakura petal etched into it. **_

"Nagihiko." Nagihiko whirled around at the sound of his name. There stood Kukai, gun carelessly at his side again. He approached the purple-haired boy and then knelt down beside the grave, gently running his finger along the headstone. "I'm sorry I'm late, Amu…"

Nagihiko turned his head away from the sight. "…Did they take care of Ikuto?"

"From what I heard… we're going to be seeing a lot of him from now on." Kukai got to his feet, hand balled into a fist. "…He's already been initiated into the Gravekeepers. Apparently his potential was high enough for our rankings. I don't understand how he did it or why…"

"Maybe it had something to do with Amu? I mean… Think about it. Amu must have cared about Ikuto a lot if she risked betraying the Gravekeepers just to be with him. Maybe, just maybe… the two of them being together challenged Ikuto's potential."

"Whatever it is, we won't let Amu's death be in vain."

"What do you mean, Kukai?"

Kukai turned to face Nagihiko, a dark look on his face. It almost startled Nagihiko. "I mean we're going to off Ikuto as revenge. Put him through hell while he's here. Get it?"

"…I do, but… I really don't think that it was entirely Ikuto's fault that Amu's gone now."

"You're kidding, right? You're actually on his side?! Even though your best friend is dead now, and it's because he went against her laws?! She had to have warned him-"

"Maybe she didn't do it, at least not in time. Face it now, Kukai…" Nagihiko turned to leave. "If we sought happiness… why would we tell our most trusted friends about what we have become? Why would we if we wanted to protect them from our world?" He looked back to Kukai. "We each have someone in that world that we have a connection to. Amu had her parents and sister, but then they were taken away from her… And then Amu had Ikuto when she decided to take a chance… and now Ikuto doesn't have anyone."

_**It was obvious to me. Amu only wanted to be happy. That was why she wanted to leave the guild. I couldn't ever bring myself to put the blame of her death on Ikuto. I could see the pain on his face, even if he was trying to put on a brave face in front of Kukai.**_

"_**If you want to shoot me, go ahead. I don't have much else to live for."**_

_**But you did want to live a little longer, Ikuto. You wanted to live so badly… It was evident that you had your own goals in mind when staring down Kukai. **_

"_**I'm not supposed to kill you… even if you did get Amu killed." **_

_**I already knew pretty well that Yuu Nikaidou had been assigned to eliminate her for "betrayal" to the guild. There was no one left to put the blame on…**_

_**And Kukai knew that. This was just his way of dealing with the pain of losing the closest thing he had to a younger sister. Given I was in his shoes once… I knew just as well, if not more.**_

"…Let's head back before the higher ups start getting ideas." Nagihiko concluded. Kukai just watched for a moment as his younger companion began to take a few steps along the top of the gates, then backflip onto one of the tombstones before leaping gracefully onto a larger one.

Nagihiko was known to have the most grace and agility amongst the members of the guild. Kukai didn't know too much about his past, but what little he did know about him, he knew that Nagihiko had scars just like everyone else in the guild… maybe even one that ran more intense, but he managed to hide it so well behind that elegant face of his.

_**I'd like to tell you my story, if only briefly…**_

_**I was born along with an older identical twin sister, Nadeshiko, and we were both heirs to the Fujisaki fortune. My family owned a traditional dance studio, and as such, Nadeshiko and I had been learning traditional dance and kabuki since we were able to walk. Ever since then… we competed for the fortune and the chance to have a perfect life in the Fujisaki home.**_

_**To be loved by all who came to see us dance.**_

_**Nadeshiko… was the perfect princess in the home of Fujisaki. She was girly, always wearing her hair in ponytails with ribbons in them… she was domestic, and could cook and bake with great ease… she loved dancing more than anything, and when she had, she lit up the entire stage with her grace.**_

_**Then there's me. I dressed as a girl when performing—and even during my younger days in school, in order to complete my training. But I could never live a life as Nagihiko Fujisaki. Instead, I was only known as Nadeshiko's shadow. She was born a girl… she already had the advantage of gaining the fortune because her body was naturally more graceful than my own. I could never truly succeed at kabuki because I was a boy.**_

Nagihiko carelessly continued leaping forward, not caring if he was defiling the tombs of the deceased or not.

_**I tried desperately to become like her. I got my voice pitch to match hers, I tried to adapt to her fashion style… I wore ponytails even though I hated them. I tried to be everything she wasn't for years, to no avail…**_

_**And then one day, one year ago… the Gravekeepers came for Nadeshiko. They saw her potential just by watching her dance in secrecy. I managed to get her away, but only for the moment. I was fully aware what they had wanted to do to her…**_

_**And after saying sweet words to her, I took on her appearance. We swapped clothes and hairstyles despite her pleas not for me to take her place… and after kissing her on the forehead one final time I pushed her into a secure hiding spot and let the Gravekeepers come for me. They couldn't tell the difference, especially after they caught my voice pitch change.**_

Nagihiko stood atop one of the tombstones after some time, his long ponytail blowing in the winter air. He let out a sigh, slowly closing his eyes.

"…Nadeshiko…"

_**They later knew I wasn't her, and were prepared to go back for her… but then their boss told them of my own potential levels, and I used my wish to make them swear that they wouldn't try to do any harm to anyone in the Fujisaki family, especially Nadeshiko. And so far, they've kept their word.**_

_**For the first time since our childhood days, I hadn't been jealous of Nadeshiko. Instead, I wanted her to have the happy ending that day. Maybe in that instance…**_

Slowly he reached up a hand and pulled the red ribbon from his hair, securely tucking the ribbon back into his cloak again. His long hair was unruly as it danced along the wind.

_**I was being like her.**_

"Hey, Nagi! Are you coming?" Kukai called from below. He was standing before the guild's underground entrance. It was a large morgue entrance—only when Gravekeeper members opened it or another morgue in connection to the guild did they find the guild's main branch. Nagihiko glanced down at him and then nodded a bit, leaping off of the tombstone. Kukai slid the door open, and the area opened up in front of them.

* * *

The main branch of the guild almost appeared like a large office. It had wide open space, was full of white walls, glass windows, and multiple members walked the halls, some even with their weapon of choice present. Kukai put his guns away, letting them slip into his hands, but Nagihiko just held his naginata out at his side.

_**I didn't question how I had come to possess a naginata… I only assumed it was due to my connection to the traditional Japanese culture. The double bladed purple and white weapon was a beautiful one… It was my own… **_

"Aren't you gonna put that away? You usually do after a mission." Kukai asked.

"…Oh. I guess I'm spacing out… I'm sorry." Nagihiko let the weapon seep into his left arm. He eyed all of the weaponry out and about.

Guns… daggers… swords… shurikins, naginatas, bow and arrow combinations… there were even people that were brawlers and had their weaponry choice as enhanced gloves… and most rarely of all of the weaponry, scythes.

_**Of the hundreds of people in the guild, the most common weapon was a sword. The most talented swordsmen could earn names for themselves, rarely, but surely. Gunmen could provide the most range, but only the most skilled and determined could change their gun focus willingly. Amu was one of them, and Kukai's in the process of mastering it. Shurikin and naginata wielders were the most traditional, and therefore the most disciplined.**_

_**Only about two percent of the guild members had a scythe—maybe one in every two hundred members. And even those that had them had a hard time controlling the power they bring forth. It usually takes years to master… for our boss, it took only three months for him to gather up enough strength and form an underground group. **_

Nagihiko looked to his right and spotted midnight blue hair on a young man. Then he froze when he caught sight of the weapon in his grasp. He was carrying a silver and lavender scythe with a wing shaped blade. The weapon was at least three inches taller than him if he held it upward enough, for instead it dragged slightly along the floor, causing a screeching sound to echo about the area.

"Kukai…" Nagihiko began.

"I know. I see him." Kukai mumbled. "How did he get lucky AGAIN? There's no WAY someone like him should have enough potential and stamina to wield that thing!" Nagihiko just shook his head as he watched Ikuto suddenly be shoved by a group of males.

"Hey! Cut the noise! It's breaking ears here!" The leader was Yugaku, whom Kukai barely remembered spare that he was the guild member that had a collection of cute toys in his room. Ikuto just let his hair sink over his eyes.

"…Tell me where to find the leader."

"What was that?"

"Tell me… where to find… the leader of this guild." Ikuto repeated, a bit more sinister the second time around. Yugaku blinked a few times.

"No one alive knows where it is…" Ikuto glared up at him, and with one sweep of his scythe, he cut off the guy's head. Blood poured out of the body that stood still for a few more seconds before falling onto the floor. Nagihiko covered his mouth out of pure shock. Kukai immediately raced over and restrained Ikuto with his arms, causing Ikuto to drop the weapon.

"You just killed him!" Kukai hissed. "You're INSANE!" Ikuto's eyes were void of emotion. Kukai put a gun to his head. "…Well?! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

"…She wanted to save them… she wanted to free her friends from this place…"

"Who did?! What are you talking about?!" Kukai pressed the gun up against his head again. "Don't just sit there! Answer me, Tsukiyomi!" Ikuto started to reach for his scythe. "Don't move!"

Ikuto pulled back again and then looked up to Kukai. "…Amu did." Kukai froze, and Ikuto got to his feet, grabbing the scythe, walking away from the scene as if nothing had happened. Nagihiko ran over to Kukai.

"Kukai…?"

_**Never before had I seen Kukai look so hesitant and mortified by just a few words. And never before this moment… did I imagine that Ikuto had built up so much rage in such a short time.**_

* * *

Nagihiko managed to track down Ikuto's room and before he had even knocked, Ikuto had opened the door and faced him with dead eyes.

"H-H-Hi there. Ikuto Tsukiyomi, right?" Ikuto just stared at him. Nagihiko hesitantly held out a hand, smiling still. "We didn't have much of an opportunity to talk before, given the circumstances at the time, but that's to be expected. Anyways, my name's Nagihiko Fujisaki."

"If this is about what happened in the hall, I do not wish to discuss it."

_**The first time Ikuto and I spoke, it was amazing he could be so composed despite the fact that he had just killed someone at random.**_

Ikuto started to close the door on him, but Nagihiko managed to grab hold of it. "No, it's not about that anymore, I swear."

"Then what do you want? I'm trying to have time to think…"

"I… wanted to apologize to you about Kukai. I understand how close you were to Amu in such a short time, and… he just snapped because he was extremely close to her too. They were practically like siblings, after all. And I'm pretty sure you two were-"

"Lovers. Yes." Ikuto's tone was blunt. "I love her, she loved me. And nothing will be able to bring that back anymore." Nagihiko's mouth went dry. "Is that all you wanted?"

"I… I was kind of hoping that we could be friends…"

"What, you think that can happen just because we had a common friend?" Nagihiko nodded a bit. Ikuto just slowly shook his head in response. "Listen, Nagihiko… I do appreciate the apology on your behalf, really, I do… but I'm not here to look for friends."

"Well… who said that you have to look for them? Sometimes they find you." Nagihiko turned to leave, and Ikuto just watched as he did. Once Nagihiko had turned the corner, Ikuto slowly closed the door. Within minutes, the hall was filled with the gentle sound of a violin. Nagihiko peeked around the corner and listened to the sound, grinning. "So, he's a violinist then. Elegant, very elegant indeed…"

* * *

Kukai messed around with his guns in the training facilities before firing off rounds at the targets. One bullet hit the target just above the heart, one hit in the shoulder, and the last in where a person's cheek would be. Amu wouldn't have been impressed.

"_You should always try to go for vital positions if you're looking to kill." _

"_Yeah, I know. The head, neck, heart… They're all usually fatal places, right?"_

"_The head, the neck, the heart, yes, those are the most obvious places to send powerful ranged shots… but there are some people that even go for the hand. If you shoot or cut the ring finger, it bleeds out and you die more quickly."_

Kukai sighed heavily and then leaned up against the wall, wiping sweat off of his brow. Nothing felt the same without her there… not even merciless target practice, where you weren't supposed to feel anything. He was completely alone in the room for half an hour, he thought. And not once had he cried before this… Why not now?

He turned away from the door and covered his face, letting the tears fall. For the first time since he had first joined the guild at thirteen, he felt the need to weaken himself just a little. No one else could see him like this… Not Nagihiko… especially not Ikuto. Tears quickly turned to muffled sobs, and Kukai felt his knees go weak, dropping down in front of the door.

"Amu…!" He constantly called out her name over and over again, knowing it would never once be responded to. "AMU!" _**{A/N: ...Yep... I made Kukai cry... I gave him a chance to be weak...} **_

* * *

It was about midnight when Ikuto decided to go out towards the Midorizuma Cemetery to kill off both Nightwalkers and some of his prior stress, only to be instantly stopped by a group of guards at the entrance. Evidently, the boss had planned everything accordingly for those who wanted to leave the guild, even if only temporarily.

"Where do you think you're going, new meat?"

"I'm going out to take out the Nightwalkers, what do you think?"

"No you're not." A man with long black hair called. "That's only a task assigned to field members. And I seem to recall that you may be a scythe wielder, but at the same time, you don't have the physical capabilities to be out on missions yet. You are going to have to go through training just like everyone else does."

"I don't need training." Ikuto mumbled. "It's not hard to take down a few husks on my own."

"The only way you could go right into the fields is if you had a background in fighting. And I seem to recall that you were only a lowly son of a famous violinist." A woman with long pink hair and questionably large breasts stated. "Not nearly skilled enough to take down the higher ranking Nightwalkers, it seems."

"I could teach him!" A voice called. Ikuto froze. The group glanced back, and there stood Nagihiko, panting a bit. Obviously, he had just returned from his own battle with the Nightwalkers. "If Tsukiyomi doesn't have anyone to help him learn the basics, I volunteer!"

"Nagihiko Fujisaki." The pink-haired woman began. "One of the most graceful fighters in the fields… but far from the strongest. I doubt you could teach a scythe wielder; you don't have enough knowledge on the weapon."

Nagihiko cleared his throat before he grinned. "If you ever had a chance to study Japanese history with a major in weaponry… you would know that the naginata and scythe weaponry are both used in the art of kusarigamajutsu—chain and scythe. In Kyoto, an ordinary scythe was used by peasants to harvest crops and clean out vegetation by infantrymen, but as time passed and times of war arose, scythes were used as weapons by re-attaching the blade parallel to the haft instead of perpendicular, which is why the blade hangs lower."

"Well, that's-"

Nagihiko held out his naginata. "Naginatas, in contrast have a long tang which is inserted in the shaft, and the blade is removable, secured by a wooden peg. Not only does it share the first two syllables in my name, but my weapon happens to have two bladed ends, and therefore have to be either sheathed carefully or carefully dissolved back into my hand, or I'm going to end up cutting myself. But back on subject, both weapons have to be spun and swung in order to have a certain reach."

Ikuto was stunned by the words. Nagihiko was far more skilled on traditional weaponry than anyone he had ever met, at least. It was evident that he had won. _**{A/N: I actually did research about the differences and similarities between a naginata and a scythe!}**_

"…I'll admit, I am very impressed at your skills, Fujisaki." The black-haired man stated after clearing his throat one good time.

"Still say I know nothing about scythes?" Nagihiko replied, still grinning. "Now, may I have the honor of teaching Tsukiyomi about his weapon?"

"O-Of course, if it is fine with Ikuto."

Nagihiko looked to Ikuto, who practically shook inside. He was shocked at how easily he had stood up to them. "Do you have a problem with that, Tsukiyomi?"

"…No. Not at all." Nagihiko just gave him an earnest smile.

"Great! We'll get started tomorrow!" Nagihiko turned and ran off. "I'll come and get you from your room around noon, okay? And you had better be awake! I don't look well to tardiness!" Ikuto just shook his head.

"What have I gotten myself into…?"

* * *

"Kukaiiiiiiiiiii!" Nagihiko called fairly late the next morning, around ten, banging on his superior's door. "Get up already! I need you to help me with something!" Said boy came out with a yawn, brown hair sticking out even more than usual.

"What…?"

"I need you to help me with something!" Nagihiko repeated.

Kukai rubbed his tired eyes and then shook his hair out a bit. "All right, all right, I got it. And why are you yelling? What do you need me to do?"

"Okay, before I tell you, promise me you won't get mad."

"…Okay. What is it?"

"Help me train Ikuto Tsukiyomi!"

"…What?!" Kukai practically tore Nagihiko's head off of his shoulders by the force put into shaking him. "Are you KIDDING me?! Why did you agree to that?!"

"Because I'm sure that he's a really nice guy somewhere past all of that angst." Nagihiko began. Kukai shot him a glare. "Listen… Why would Amu even associate with him if he didn't have some redeeming qualities about him? We know how she was."

"…I… But she… We… he…" Kukai let out a hearty sigh. "…Okay. Fine. I will give him ONE chance. But if he turns into whatever the hell kind of person he was yesterday, I'm blowing his head off."

"Kukai…"

"I mean it. I really, really mean it." And Nagihiko knew that he did.

_**But I knew that the real Kukai was never this grim. The real Kukai was someone who could easily make someone laugh or smile just by giving off his own cheery grin or giving a few words of encouragement. This was only his grieving period.**_

"So, when are we supposed to go and get the dark prince anyways?"

"Noon, I told him. Hopefully, he'll be awake by then."

* * *

Ikuto, in fact, was already awake. Actually, he hadn't slept that entire first night he was in the Gravekeepers' guild. His mind was filled with thoughts of how to plan to overthrow their leader… but he knew that he couldn't jump into any fights blind, especially if he wasn't that good with a scythe yet.

He sighed heavily and turned over a bit in the bed, staring up at the ceiling for the umpteenth time that day.

"… _I wanted to free them—to free my friends from the hell that place has brought upon us…"_

He slowly closed his eyes, throwing an arm over his face. He hadn't even bothered to look over at his new attire assigned as normal clothing for the members of the Gravekeepers when they walked the halls. He had seen Nagihiko and Kukai already wearing them.

It didn't look too much different from his school uniform. It was fully black as well. The only differences he could point out were that the collar of the shirt bent out more instead of being straight down against it, the collar had blue trimmings along it, no buttons, the pants had belt straps along them, and the shirt was absent of his rosary charms. But he knew that could have been easily fixed.

"Tsukiyomi!" A call came from the other side of his door. Nagihiko was here. Ikuto sighed. Was it noon already? He shrugged it off and continued to relax. "Tsukiyomi, it's noon! You better be awake!" Ikuto didn't respond. "You've got five seconds!"

Or he would do what, Ikuto thought. When the five seconds was up, Ikuto heard a slice, and the door fell to pieces instantly. There stood Nagihiko holding his naginata with a dark expression on his face, a shocked Kukai behind him.

Ikuto jolted up, mouth wide open. Then his eyes darkened immensely, and he grabbed his scythe and held it out in front of him. "YOU BROKE MY DOOR!"

"I WARNED you that I don't look well to tardiness. You would have done very well to listen." Nagihiko's voice was almost demonic. Kukai looked between the two, still in shock.

Nagihiko's character change…

"You've gone WAY too far now!" Ikuto charged forward, scythe drawn. Instantly, Nagihiko held up his naginata, and the two weapons collided. Nagihiko didn't look very impressed, but Ikuto continued to press on, glaring at him the entire time.

"Looks a little bit too heavy for you right now," Nagihiko easily pushed Ikuto back off of him, sending Ikuto flying onto the floor and knocking his scythe not too far off. "This is exactly why you could use the training." Nagihiko grabbed hold of the scythe. "Until your training is done… This is confiscated. Now, let's go. We've got a lot of work to do."

"What? How do you expect me to do scythe training without a scythe?"

"Oh, you'll see." Kukai snickered.

* * *

"You have GOT to be kidding me." Ikuto mumbled. Then he looked at his surroundings. There were nothing but white walls everywhere. No doors, no windows… and he was sure that he came in through a door, only for Nagihiko and Kukai to close it behind on him. "Why do you have me in a room all by myself? Is this supposed to be helpful?"

Kukai and Nagihiko stood on the other side of a two-way mirror, watching him closely. They could see Ikuto, but he couldn't see them. That only made things more fun. Nagihiko fiddled with the microphone settings a bit.

"Ikuto, can you hear me?"

Ikuto looked around the room a bit upon hearing Nagihiko's voice. "Yeah, I can hear you fine. Wanna tell me what's going on here?"

"Kukai, you took this course once. Would you care to explain?"

"Why, sure, Nagi. Basically, Ikuto, we're about to teach you about fighting without a weapon. Unlike Nagihiko, who has a background in dance, and therefore has talent in flexibility as well as some fighting skill, I had only a background in sports but none for fighting spare kicking. I was required to take a fighting course before I could enter the field. As someone with a musical background, you're going to have to do the same."

"What do I have to do?" Ikuto asked.

"Tap into your inner abilities. We're gonna send level 1 drones at you, and you're going to attack them with your natural abilities before they try to attack you." Nagihiko stated.

"What? But let's keep in mind I lived a sheltered life before I came here! I don't have much, if any fighting experience!" As soon as Ikuto had completed his sentence, drones came at him in all directions. He looked around and then sighed, then unbuttoned his uniform shirt a bit, brushing hair out of his face. "…Okay… Fine… I guess I can do this with ease…"

"Begin!" Kukai called.

Ikuto charged forward, fist pulled back, knocking drones away into the walls. They broke on impact. He was moving at such speed that Nagihiko and Kukai could barely keep a track on his movements alone.

_**There were just some things we hadn't known about Ikuto by this point… and the cat-like agility he brought on in the first lesson remained a mystery by a long shot to us. **_

Within the next few minutes, Ikuto stood above a pile of destroyed drones, panting a bit. He looked to the wall, and Kukai and Nagihiko swore that he was facing them directly.

"How was that?"

Nagihiko looked to Kukai, covering the microphone. "He's good. Really good. Has anyone from your class ever gone through the first lesson that quickly?"

"Not a one. It took about fifteen minutes for the fastest person in my class to learn the mechanics of the drones before he could actually defeat them." Nagihiko nodded a bit, impressed.

"I think we should let him off for right now." Nagihiko walked over to the door and opened it. Ikuto glanced over at him, a bit shocked by the sudden action. "Congratulations, Tsukiyomi. You got through the first lesson with no trouble, so tomorrow we're going to let you use your weapon."

Nagihiko tossed the scythe back at Ikuto, and Ikuto caught it, spinning it in his hand once before letting it seep back through his arm. Then Ikuto turned to make his way over to the door. "…Thanks for the training, Nagihiko."

Nagihiko gave off a grin. "No problem."

"I promise you, I'll do my best and not complain… For Amu's sake and for our own sakes as well." And then he was gone.

* * *

Ikuto spent the night tracking the movements of the guards at the entrance of the building. Every morning at around two after about four hours of duty for each group, they would split off for about two minutes so that the next set of guards could come in.

He had found his opening.

Now he knew the secret to leaving and being able to visit Amu and the outside world without anyone else knowing where he could have gone. With that thought in mind, he left for his room. When he reached his bedroom again, he found that the door had been carefully fixed and set back on its hinges—someone must have gotten the call Nagihiko had put in as they were en route to the training area earlier that day.

Convenient, he thought.

The moment he laid his head back onto his pillow, his eyes closed shut.

* * *

"Tsukiyomi!" Nagihiko's voice called the following morning. Ikuto shot up from his bed and ran for the door, ignoring the fact that he hadn't yet put on his uniform shirt.

"I-Is it noon already?"

Kukai just burst into laughter. "No way, man! It's only ten!"

"We wanted to know if you wanted to come to breakfast with us. You haven't been to the cafeteria since you've joined, right?" Nagihiko asked. As if on cue, Ikuto's stomach growled a bit. Kukai stifled a laugh again, and Ikuto felt his face go hot.

"…Sure." He went and grabbed his uniform shirt and threw it over his shoulder. "Can you give me a few minutes…?"

"Of course," Nagihiko beamed. Ikuto sighed a bit and then pulled the shirt on over his scrawny shoulders, buttoning the lowest button first, and then leaving the last one unbuttoned. "You really should swap shirts."

"I happen to like my uniform shirt, thank you." Ikuto mumbled. And even if Ikuto had wanted to wear something that practically screamed 'commitment,' it was still too large for him to fit into.

"I don't see how. It doesn't suit your style. You're more along the lines of a dark and mysterious person, and you tend to wear a lot of darker colors to amplify that image." Ikuto rose an eyebrow at Nagihiko's comments. Then the three started moving forward, Kukai leading the group to the cafeteria. "On top of which, you wear rosaries a lot… are you religious?"

"No. Not at all. I just used to go to cemeteries a lot—for funerals, and eventually just to play music on my own away from my father… and as I got older, I started going every night to play laments for the dead. That's… partially how I met Amu officially."

"Well, how did you two meet unofficially?" Kukai asked, hands casually behind his head.

"She appeared in the courtyard of my house on my birthday randomly." Ikuto began, thinking back to the girl sitting at the snowy fountain. "She teased me for a while, and then she was gone. Later on that night, I went to Midorizuma Cemetery… and there she was, fighting off Nightwalkers. I watched her for a while, then she caught me… and after we went through that process, she started asking me to play songs for the dead on my violin." Then Ikuto's eyes widened. "My violin! Those guys took it!"

"I wouldn't worry about it. It should still be in one piece." Nagihiko stated.

"What do you mean?"

"They didn't take it. It's likely bonded with your scythe." Ikuto was confused. "Usually when someone brings an item of importance into the guild, the boss binds it along with the member's weapon. If you called on your violin, it would take the place of your scythe. Try it."

Ikuto held out an arm, the image of the adult-sized violin coming to mind. The violin's bow appeared in his hand, and slowly, the violin came out of his right arm. Ikuto held it in his hand, sighing of relief. "I'm so glad…"

Nagihiko held up a small fan, grinning. "I had this with me when I became a member. It's my sister's fan." Then he opened it, and Ikuto and Kukai stared upon an image of Nadeshiko flowers and trees etched into the fan.

_**Nadeshiko was given her name from the flowers that mother loved dearly…**_

_**And I always wondered what I had been named for if she had been given such beauty throughout her entire life.**_

"Aw, you guys are lucky! You know how much I wish I could have kept at least a soccer ball or something? It's so BORING at night!" Kukai whined. Nagihiko just chuckled, and Ikuto nodded a bit. "But enough of all this dwelling on the past and crap. Let's get food!"

"All right, all right." Nagihiko and Kukai walked ahead. Ikuto paused, reaching into his pants pocket. Sure enough, silver ran through his fingers. He pulled out a necklace—a silver chain with a pink heart-shaped locket hanging from it.

"_Do you like it? It took me a while to find it, but I think pink suits you." _He clutched the necklace to his chest, and a slight smile formed on his face.

Part of Amu was still here.

* * *

That night, Ikuto went out to Midorizuma Cemetery. He checked all of the graves, and after a few hours of searching, he finally came across what he had been searching for.

Amu's grave.

He knelt down beside it, gently brushing his fingers along the icy texture of the cemented headstone. There was a pink lily on the dirt, and it made Ikuto pleased that someone besides him had thought to bring flowers. He carefully set a white rose on the dirt next to the pink flower, then stood up.

"Don't you worry now, Amu... I'm gonna fight as hard as possible for you. I'm going to fulfill your dream for you… I promise." He turned his back on the grave and walked off, the anguish sliding down in form of tears.

* * *

**^_^ And that is now complete. 0_0 I kind of wish more people would read this, but hey, there are hundreds upon thousands of Shugo Chara fanfictions out there. XD And not many people like angst anyways.**

**Still, I hope you guys enjoyed, to those that do read! Review!**


	5. Relapse (Ikuto)

**_Yep... I'm posting this on Mother's Day... Not that I really have anything to do today anyways, given my mom's no longer here..._**

**_But I won't bring up sad things right now._**

**_:D I wish you all and your mothers a happy mother's day, and to celebrate it, I bring you more of Gravekeeper! More of the infamous trio with the introduction of my boyfriend's favorite character. Hehehe._**

* * *

**_Chapter 4: _**

-Ikuto-

**_Six months have passed since I joined the Gravekeepers._**

Ikuto kept the hooded cloak over him at all times. He held his scythe in his right hand, and kept the necklace securely in his pocket. Drones began to surround him, all of them wielding swords. Ikuto slowly closed his eyes and let the sounds of the metal clunking around on the floor sink in.

They were getting closer and closer…

**_Six months… that I had spent doing non-stop training._**

Ikuto slowly looked to the drones and he held up his scythe. He pulled it back, and with such force threw it away. The scythe continued to maneuver, ricocheting off of each drone, knocking away their swords and decapitating them with no trouble. He caught the scythe again and let it seep back into his arm. With one sweep, all of the drones fell at his feet.

"Come on, guys. Give me a challenge."

Nagihiko looked to Kukai, then sighed. Kukai instead grabbed hold of the microphone in his place. "Ikuto, give us a break already, we get it! You can max out the system now! You can beat level nine drones all on your own! You're a scythe master!"

"I prefer the term reaper-" Ikuto began.

"WE GET IT!" Kukai whined.

**_I was stronger… I was faster… I had closed off everything about myself for six months to gain it, but slowly I was gaining the power I needed. I hardly rested. I hardly ate. I couldn't sit around and wait anymore. During these six months, I was fully convinced that I would be able to bring back Amu's dream if all I did was work for it._**

With a slight 'hmph', Ikuto nodded. "Do you think I'm strong enough to go into the fields now?"

"I'm BEYOND sure you are!" Kukai replied, giving off a thumbs-up that Ikuto couldn't see, but knew was present. "Now you just need to convince the superiors that you're ready!"

**_All I had to do was convince the higher-ups that I was ready to take down higher level drones, like Amu was able to do when she was alive. Maybe I could even be able to surpass her strength. I wasn't that sure anymore. But I knew that I was ready._**

Nagihiko opened the door for Ikuto. Nagihiko's hair was a bit longer, all pulled into a ponytail to keep it from out of his face, and he was clothed in a purple long-sleeved shirt with dark blue jeans. Kukai, in contrast, was clothed in a hooded orange jacket and ripped blue jeans. They had finally gotten ahold of casual clothing thanks to a new rule.

"You really should take a break before you try jumping into another fight though. Skip going into the fields tonight."

"I didn't plan on fighting tonight. I just wanted to talk to Amu." Ikuto replied, turning to leave. "I'll see you guys at lunch, okay? I want to think about some things."

"We know how you get. Enjoy." Kukai said, waving him off with his hand.

"Try not to stay outside for too long. You know what the sun does to your skin."

"I know. I won't." With that, Ikuto ripped off his cloak, revealing the normal attire the guild had presented him with once he had joined. Then he exited the training area.

**_I detested it, but slowly I was growing committed to being a part of the Gravekeepers. And slowly I was seeing why Amu wanted to leave so badly. We were being forced to battle against creatures we didn't have any knowledge about, and for the battling we received nothing but more fighting. The thought alone seems grim, doesn't it?_**

**_Like an endless war…_**

**_But things only got worse. I joined the field about two months ago, after I had gotten past the level five drones. And after some time, I began to notice something off about the Nightwalkers._**

**_Some of the strongest… had human faces._**

**_Kukai, Nagihiko and I teamed up once to take on a stronger Nightwalker that was tormenting a cemetery in Kobe, and there we discovered that it almost appeared human. The only way we could tell was because its flesh was rotting away as Kukai fired shots at it. That Nightwalker could even speak with us—sure, it threatened to kill us if we didn't leave, but nonetheless, it was speaking. _**

**_The thought bothered me for weeks._**

**_The Nightwalkers were once human. But if they had once been human… what changed them into the walking dead?_**

* * *

A few hours went by. Ikuto stood on top of the guild building's rooftop balcony, sighing a bit. It was mid-afternoon. He felt like he hadn't seen the sun in ages. It had only been about four months since he had last gone outside, and there he discovered something that made him really regret spending a lot of time in the house in his youth.

He glanced down at his right hand and noticed it beginning to burn away. He carefully put it back into his pants pocket, and sighed a bit. He assumed that it was time to head back into the building.

**_I couldn't go outside anymore… I discovered a while back that the reason why Amu couldn't come out in the sun. Gradually, if we stayed out in daylight for too long, more than a few hours at a time… our bodies will disintegrate. Even more so, adding to the curse of being a member of the Gravekeepers. Not that we could leave out anyways…_**

**_Remember how earlier I stated that being condemned to the Gravekeepers was similar to being deceased ourselves? I reached a conclusion. _**

Ikuto turned and made his way back to the rooftop entrance.

**_They pick the ones with the most potential, and then as soon as the victims come into their grasp… they murder their original bodies... _**

Ikuto drew his scythe and gripped it so tightly that his knuckles quickly turned red.

**_Force their souls into a weapon based on the soul's potential…_**

**_Then force their souls into an endless battle… _**

He bit his lip.

**_Only to let the weakest members of the pack gradually be picked off one by one, as if we were fresh cattle on the field. In this place, it was kill or be killed._**

Ikuto sliced open a group of fire extinguishers multiple times, and let the white foam sink around the top of the rooftop entrance and stairs. His eyes were practically bloodshot as he made his way back down the stairs, avoiding the foam.

**_And I wasn't about to be killed. Not yet._**

* * *

Nagihiko looked to Ikuto, who only picked at his pasta. Then Nagihiko looked to Kukai, who was practically scarfing down the delicacy that was one of three hamburgers—it was rare to have such meals around, once bi-weekly if lucky.

"You're awfully quiet today, Ikuto." Nagihiko began.

**_Nagihiko, Kukai and I had only recently gotten on a first name basis with one another, as Kukai was finally able to find trust in me, and I was finally able to like him, if only a little. Nagihiko always liked me, but plain to say, I despised his cheery personality until we teamed up—think about it, no one could smile as much as he could in this place. They were good people… I could tell._**

"It's nothing important." Nagihiko just stared at him. He knew Ikuto well enough by now to know when something was on his mind.

"Hey, did you guys hear that someone sprayed the fire extinguisher all over the rooftop?" Kukai replied, obviously trying to relieve the tension within the area. "Someone's gonna be in REAL trouble when the higher-ups try to investigate."

"That would be me, actually." Ikuto stated, finally taking a bite of his food. "…I just released a bit of stress when I finished my thinking. Unless they realize that the fire extinguisher got cut, I'm pretty sure that they won't be able to narrow it down-"

"Ikuto Tsukiyomi, I presume?" Ikuto glanced up. Before him was a petite boy with dark greenish hair tied into a fairly sized ponytail at the top of his head and blue eyes. He wore glasses, and appeared both serious and studious. "I have gained conclusive evidence that you are responsible for the rooftop incident that occurred approximately two hours ago. Would you be so kind as to come with me?"

"What proof is that?" Ikuto didn't mind toying with him. The boy sighed and pulled out a cell phone, opening a file and then showing it to Ikuto. It was a video of him impulsively slicing the fire extinguisher and then walking off. Ikuto had to admit, he looked cool during the event, and he was surprised that he had been found out so quickly. "…Okay. Just let me finish my lunch…" Then the boy went off to the other side of the room and spoke with a small group.

"…Ikuto, you kinda made the mistake of trying to outdo Kairi Sanjou…" Nagihiko began. "He's the best analyst on the force."

"You're kidding…" Ikuto mumbled. "But he's just a kid."

"So are we. But Kairi's also one of the youngest members on the force—he's two years younger than you are, and he joined the force at eleven. Not only is he a skilled analyst, but he's extremely talented at swordplay." Kukai explained. "Some people even say that he's like a samurai."

"…You don't say. Sounds kind of interesting." Ikuto continued eating his food. "Maybe one day I'll fight him and see if that judgment is true." Then he stood up, taking his empty plate and bowls with him. "I'm off."

"Good luck, Ikuto!" Kukai replied. And Ikuto knew he would likely need it.

* * *

"He is not to be punished." The head of management explained to Kairi, who only looked shocked by the response. Ikuto looked around the room a bit, not even caring much, and frankly, all he noticed was that management was filled with women. It explained why things felt a bit more organized, not that he was trying to be sexist.

"What? Why not?"

"Because he is scheduled to be dueling tomorrow afternoon."

"…I'M scheduled to be dueling tomorrow afternoon." Kairi began. Then he slowly looked to Ikuto, and Ikuto grew a bit stunned. Kairi… was SMIRKING. "This means… that I am likely to be dueling you then. Does that not sound interesting to you?"

Ikuto was only surprised by the smile. The battle he expected to have with Kairi was coming a lot faster than he had expected. Kairi didn't look like much when Ikuto looked closer—he was a lot smaller than him given he was about a year, maybe two years younger than he was. But according to Kukai, Kairi was one of the most skilled fighters at such a young age. Nikaidou was the best swordsman before he had killed him… was Kairi any better?

"…I look forward to seeing your skills."

"The same to you, sir."

"Don't call me sir." Ikuto mumbled.

* * *

Ikuto returned to the cafeteria to find Nagihiko and Kukai finishing up their meals. Kukai glanced up when he heard the door open.

"Whoa, that was fast! You survived?"

"Yeah…"

"Did you get into any trouble?" Nagihiko asked.

"No. Nothing happened." Then the three exited the cafeteria. "They let me go since I have to attend the battalion tomorrow. And get this. I have to fight Kairi."

"KAIRI?!" The two exclaimed in unison. Ikuto nodded a bit. Nagihiko and Kukai looked to one another, then to Ikuto again.

"Well… I wish you good luck, Ikuto. Kairi isn't an easy opponent."

"I want to go and train more before I go to see Amu." Ikuto walked off without another word.

"He seemed kind of distracted by something." Kukai began. Nagihiko nodded in agreement. "What do you think's on his mind?"

"Could be anything, honestly… but knowing Ikuto, there's no way that he would ever even consider telling us what's on his mind."

* * *

Ikuto stood alone in the fitness area of the building. There were weights and exercise equipment area everywhere, so his options weren't that limited in deciding how to burn off his lunch. He decided to go for the weights, for they were already so similar to lifting his heavy scythe. He could easily put down 30 pounds now.

After a few hours of this, Ikuto glanced out of the window and noticed the sun was beginning to set and decided to prepare to go and visit Amu, which was simple because all he needed were the clothes on his back.

With that, he set out for Midorizuma Cemetery.

He remembered that Nagihiko had stated that he left Amu's grave marked with a Sakura petal etched into the headstone. It didn't take Ikuto long to find it while avoiding Nightwalkers in the process, and by the time he had reached it, there was already a pink lily placed on the dirt in front of it.

Someone had beaten him to the punch again. Who it was, he didn't know.

He knelt down and touched the headstone, a small grin pursing his lips. "Hey, Amu… I'm sorry it's taken me so long to come and see you again… I've been spending a lot of time training. I'm a lot stronger now than I was half a year ago, I could easily match you. I bet that even by now we could have even been rivals in love…"

Ikuto went on like this for hours, talking to the grave about what he had been doing all of this time. He even stated that he hadn't even bothered to touch his violin, and apologized for not wanting to play a song for her.

"All right… I should probably get going now. I need to rest up for the battle tomorrow." He kissed the headstone. "I love you, okay…? I promise to come visit you more often."

As he turned and walked off, a little boy poked his head out from behind one of the tombstones, watching as Ikuto left the cemetery. He gulped a bit before sliding back behind the tombstone.

* * *

The following day came quickly. Nagihiko and Kukai stood at Ikuto's side as they all looked up towards the arena outside of the building. It was broad daylight outside, and the area was concealed by a dome in case any fights took longer than a few hours.

"Kairi should be in the west corridor of the arena now…" Kukai began. "Listen, are you sure that you want to go through with this fight?"

"There isn't a thought in my mind to say no." Ikuto pushed open the doors as the announcer began speaking up above.

"In this corner, we have Ikuto Tsukiyomi!" Ikuto drew his scythe and held it out in front of him, a grim expression on his face. "Ooh, check it out! He's a mean scythe wielder and thinks he's ready for the big leagues! Let's see if his thoughts are correct!"

Ikuto glanced up at the crowds. All of the front seven rows had been filled. Kukai and Nagihiko were up in the stands already, watching him with intent and concerned eyes respectively.

"You can do this." Nagihiko mouthed, causing Ikuto to nod.

Then the doors on the other side flew open, and in came Kairi. He was dressed in a green and black kimono, a pair of twin katana swords on each side of his waist. He looked up and Ikuto could easily see the rage and determination in his face, no longer hidden behind his glasses. With that, he tossed the veil off of his head.

"Oh no…" Kukai mumbled. "That could only mean he isn't looking to go easy on his opponent…"

"And in this corner, we have the infamous Kairi Sanjou, master analyst and samurai warrior galore! You see that look on his face? That's why he's infamous!"

"You look so serious… why?" Ikuto asked. Kairi pointed one of his swords at him.

"Don't try to make small conversation with me… I know exactly what you did to Amu, and now I'm going to make you pay for it."

"I didn't do anything to Amu, idiot." Ikuto hissed, pointing his scythe at Kairi, directly across the katana. "I don't know what you've been told, but Amu's death wasn't completely my fault."

"I detest you. You still played a part."

"Fight!" Ikuto and Kairi began locking blades with one another, Ikuto putting a lot of force into the weapon. Kairi easily pushed him back, slicing at Ikuto rapidly. Ikuto dodged most of the attacks, and once Kairi drew his second katana, he was able to slash Ikuto's cheek. Ikuto didn't back down, swaying a bit before rapidly slashing back at Kairi. Kairi managed to duck down as a strike came at his throat, and was completely appalled—Ikuto had cat-like agility when he got serious.

Kukai's eyes went a bit wide. "Look at that look in his eyes… See that? He's getting serious. He hardly_ ever_ gets serious; he's too stoic for it."

"It's because Kairi got the first hit. It shows that Kairi really is a threat to him." Nagihiko replied. "If neither of them are that careful… this battle could be disastrous."

Ikuto let out a yell and charged forward, the two locking weapons multiple times again. Kairi dodged an attack and then plunged his swords into Ikuto's left shoulder. Ikuto felt numb to the attack, and he brought up the scythe, slicing off his ponytail, and then slashing him across the chest.

"OH WOW!" The announcer cried out.

The ponytail hit the ground a great distance away, and the blood from both of their wounds had splattered onto the walls. Kairi completely froze, and then dropped to his knees. Ikuto stuck the scythe into the ground, dropping to one knee as well, panting.

"Good fight…" Kairi mumbled.

"Same to you…" Ikuto replied. Then a grin curved onto his face. "You really got me…"

"You're telling me…" Kairi grinned as well. "Your speed is absolutely phenomenal… I truly didn't stand a chance…"

"They're down there having a whole conversation." Kukai snickered. "After they just got finished fighting one another. That's just like two stoic people."

Ikuto slowly got to his feet. "You're pretty fast too, though… They weren't kidding when they said you're like a samurai."

"That is true." Kairi got to his feet as well, brushing some hair out of his face.

"I'm sorry about your hair…"

"No trouble. I suppose I could have used a haircut anyways… I concede. You are the clear victor… but I will challenge you again someday, and next time, I will not hold back… Ikuto Tsukiyomi." Then Kairi turned and walked away from the arena. Ikuto reached up a hand, placing it over his bleeding shoulder. He didn't feel much pain, but nonetheless, it was there.

_"I know exactly what you did to Amu, and now I'm going to make you pay for it."_

"…So, he must have loved Amu too."

* * *

**_And so, I gained access to take on more advanced missions by myself._**

**_More weeks went by before anything eventful happened. Nagihiko forced me into a few days of rest due to my shoulder injury. It was dull, but hey, at least I had music to keep me company. They let me have my MP3 player back after a while… It was good to have around after I finished with work and even during work—you know how some people work while listening to music, right?—so that things were just a bit more tolerable. _**

**_But the more I went outside for work… the more I wondered about my family._**

**_Did they even notice I was gone? And even if they had realized I was missing from their lives, would they have come looking for me?_**

**_…My parents did love me, of course… but to them, was I more than just their violin prodigy? And what about Utau? How was my only little sister holding up without me around to mess with her emotions whenever she tried to force herself on me?_**

* * *

"…Have you guys been outside since you were brought into the guild?" Ikuto asked as he, Nagihiko and Kukai had their daily lunch break together.

"Well, yeah, we do go and fight Nightwalkers at night, ya know." Kukai replied.

"No, I mean… Have you guys ever gone back to see your parents?" Nagihiko and Kukai looked to one another before they sighed in unison.

"Oh, I actually don't have parents anymore. They died in a car accident back when I was in elementary school." Kukai stated. "I do have four older brothers though, and they're all great guys. They're all probably college age by now… But no, I haven't seen them since I was thirteen…"

"…No, I haven't seen my parents. And frankly, I don't care if I ever do again." Nagihiko's tone was sharp, and it almost startled Kukai. Ikuto looked to him, a bit stunned. "… Sorry. I've never been on really good terms with them. Forgive me."

"Hey, I think we could all use a break from here." Kukai began. "What do you say we pick a day to leave the Gravekeepers for a couple of hours, get some fresh air? We can go around downtown Tokyo. I haven't seen that place in years."

"That doesn't sound very smart…" Ikuto began. Then he thought back to his parents and then Utau. And Amu… would want him to go. "I say we go for it."

"I don't think it's a good idea. What if we get caught sneaking around?" Nagihiko asked. "We'll get demoted, and maybe even killed."

"Come on, Nagi, don't be such a goody-two-shoes! Take a risk sometimes, have some fun! Give in to the peer pressure~!"

"…All right. We'll go downtown. But that doesn't mean I'll like it."

"Great! Let's go tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow?!" Nagihiko and Ikuto exclaimed in unison. A few people turned their heads towards them, silencing them all. Once the commotion had ended, they continued. "Why?"

"It's still summer break until next week. We'll be able to see all the cute girls in their casual clothes~"

"…Kukai, you're a pervert, aren't you?" Nagihiko mumbled. All Ikuto could picture was what Amu would have looked like in normal clothes. She struck him as a type that wore a lot of punk clothing or dark colors, but secretly liked pink and frills. "Besides, I'm not interested in seeing girls…"

"Neither am I. I have only ever liked one girl in my life, and I plan to stick by that commitment even in her wake." Ikuto replied, smiling a bit. Kukai slumped.

"You guys are so pathetic. You're no fun." Kukai mumbled. "You're not real men at all."

"It's not like I care about manhood right now…" Nagihiko stated.

"Dude! You are FOURTEEN now! Eventually, you've gotta go out there, meet an amazing girl, then get to know her, and in time, get laid!" _**{A/N: ...This is already one of my favorite lines for Kukai. XD Because he initiated the whole 'men talk' even though he's only the middle one of the three.}**_

"So now, tell me, Kukai, exactly how many women have you slept with?" Ikuto's voice was smooth. Kukai opened his mouth to speak, then slowly closed it again, his face red with embarrassment. "That's a very clear 'none,' I see."

"W-Well, what about you then, Ikuto?! You're the son of a world-class violinist; surely YOU'VE met some beautiful women!"

"You're completely right. I have met a lot of beautiful women through my father, and girls my own age. But how many have I slept with? None. I never had an interest in women before I met Amu. And I plan to keep it that way."

"What a boring lifestyle, chasing after a dead girl…" Ikuto shot Kukai a glare, and he silenced himself almost instantaneously.

"…I'm going to go and play my violin. We'll talk about what we'll do later." With that, Ikuto stood up, gathered his dishes, and then exited the cafeteria.

* * *

That evening, the trio teamed up again and set out for Hanazawa Cemetery in Kobe to take out Nightwalkers more efficiently. They were finished within the hour, and decided to pick up where they had left off in terms of traveling to Tokyo.

"We're going to head out in the afternoon, when everyone is in the arena watching over another one of the battles. We can stake out in Ikuto's room until the guards take the time to leave and watch the matches as well—they never think to check the rooms once battles are commenced because people love the senseless violence." Kukai stated.

"Why my room?"

"Because yours is biggest, you have a microwave, and I'm gonna want to warm up some food before we leave because I KNOW I'll be hungry. Thus, stakeout." Ikuto sweat-dropped.

"Fine. Whatever."

* * *

**_The following afternoon, everything went according to plan… Everyone was heading for the arena, as planned, and we stayed in my room. What we didn't expect was for the guards to actually come by and knock on the doors. Without making a sound, we scrambled a bit mentally. Luckily, they left before any trouble ensued. _**

**_As soon as we noticed the halls were completely clear of people, we went for the front entrance, setting our destination for Midorizuma Cemetery, Tokyo. From there, we could easily walk and reach downtown. _**

**_In broad daylight… we felt free._**

* * *

**This is probably my shortest chapter so far, and personally, spare the intro, it isn't one of my favorites. 0_0 I think it's just made to set the mood for what occurs in the next chapter...**

**The next chapter will actually have two different parts, just so you guys that read are aware. :D I've started one part, and I think I'm making ideas on the next part.**

**READ AND REVIEW!**


	6. The Outside World -Part 1- (Nagihiko)

**0_0 I don't think I've ever uploaded a chapter this quickly after another chapter... but to be fair, it is a lot shorter, but split into two parts in two different chapters centering around two different points of view. **

**They both begin the same, and they both end the same... but what happens in between on both accounts?**

**This first one is on Nagihiko's. **

* * *

Chapter 5:

Ikuto, Nagihiko and Kukai stood amongst a group of people, all three of them looking up towards the billboards. There were advertisements for candies and drinks all over the place, and even billboards of idols on the rise. It had been so long that they had nearly forgotten just how vast downtown had looked, and they had all been born and raised in Tokyo.

"I remember… My house isn't that far away from here." Kukai began.

"Mine isn't either…" Ikuto breathed, continuing to stare up at the billboards as if he were anticipating something. "I wonder how my parents and my sister are doing… I wonder if they're still looking for me…"

"If they're anything like my parents are about me…" Nagihiko sighed. "Then they've probably given up on you by now." At that moment, two girls walked past Nagihiko, one being short with long curly blonde hair and the other with a long violet ponytail. They were talking and giggling together.

"Hey, Nagi, that girl looks a lot like you. That one with the ponytail." Kukai replied, looking to the girls as well before whistling. "Weird. It's almost like she could be your-" Nagihiko's eyes went wide and then he went dashing off. "N-Nagihiko, wait!"

* * *

-Nagihiko-

Nagihiko raced towards the girls and then grabbed the girl with the ponytail by her arm, causing her to slightly jerk back and face him.

_**Big brown eyes, long violet hair with a red bow in it to replace the obviously missing red ribbon… It was definitely her… **_

_**By mere coincidence… I had found her again.**_

"Nadeshiko…?" Then she got wide-eyed, her mouth trying to form words.

"Nagihiko…?" She mouthed.

He noticed this, his eyes filling with tears, and he immediately locked her in an embrace and gently ran his fingers through her long, silky hair. "It IS you… Nadeshiko…!"

_**She had said my name… She remembered me.**_

The petite blonde glared at him before walking over and shoving him away from Nadeshiko. "You! What do you think you're doing?!" When she looked closer, she saw the uncanny resemblance between the two. "…Am I seeing double…?"

"No… I'm Nagihiko Fujisaki…"

"Fujisaki? You're… a relative of Nadeshiko's?" The blonde guessed.

"I-I'm Nadeshiko's twin brother." Now she glared at him, accusingly pointing a finger at him.

"You're a liar. Nadeshiko's never mentioned a brother to me, let alone a twin. We've been friends since elementary school, I've even been to her house a few times, and there wasn't even a mention of you by her mother. There IS no brother."

_**I was completely baffled by those words, and out of sheer comfort, I then looked to Nadeshiko. She held her head down as if to keep her gaze off of me in particular. As soon as I saw that expression, I refused to believe that even Nadeshiko had come to resent me.**_

"No, I'm NOT lying! I'm really her twin!"

"I ought to call the police on you for sexually harassing Nadeshiko in the middle of the street, you sick being!" And Nagihiko knew she was serious.

"But I'm-"

"Rima, wait, no… please don't do that to him…" Nadeshiko spoke up, causing both Nagihiko and Rima to look over at her. "He didn't mean any harm, really, he didn't. Let's just go shopping like we said we would today… please?" Rima then made her way over to her, clinging to Nadeshiko's arm. Rima glared back at Nagihiko and then the two walked off.

"N-Nadeshiko!" Nadeshiko turned around. Nagihiko bit his lip before forming words. "…You remember it, right? The last time we saw each other, two years ago? Please, just tell me you haven't forgotten that…!"

"Nadeshiko, let's go." Rima retorted. "We don't have to deal with him anymore." Nadeshiko continued to stare at Nagihiko, tears filling her eyes.

"…According to mother… I don't have a brother." Then she turned away, and Nagihiko noticed the shimmer of the tears hitting the ground as she left with Rima.

"Don't worry… He won't bother you anymore. I'll make sure of it, Nadeshiko." Rima glared back at Nagihiko a final time before they had gone away. Nagihiko was almost positive of it—she must have already hated him to a high degree.

_**I still couldn't believe it, even though the words ran through my mind so many times long after she was gone. She wasn't allowed to remember anything about me in front of our family…**_

_**So what did she do in private?**_

* * *

_**I spent some more time just sitting in the park, thinking back on all the fun times Nadeshiko and I had shared in our youth. I only had two hours left before I would start burning away…**_

_Nadeshiko and Nagihiko were seven years old at the time and had recently finished practicing dance for the day. When they returned, Nadeshiko suddenly got tired and weak. _

_Now Nadeshiko was lying in bed, her face flushed. Nagihiko carefully placed a hand over her forehead. "…Nadeshiko, you have a fever... I'm gonna go get mama."_

_She smiled at him before sitting up again. "Hey, Nagihiko, before you go and get mama… How about we play a game?" _

"_Huh? But you're sick, I really should-" _

_She got closer, causing Nagihiko to almost blush at the tension. "Please?"_

"…_Fine… W-What kind of game?" Nadeshiko pulled the ribbon from her hair and then used it to tie Nagihiko's hair back into a ponytail._

"_For just today, you can pretend to be me, and I can pretend to be you!" _

"…_But then, wouldn't I be the one stuck in bed all day?"_

"_Nope! Because I'm Nagihiko right now, and Nagihiko is going to be the one who's got a fever instead of Nadeshiko!" Nagihiko didn't really like this game much. It was like she wanted him to take her place. "Now, go tell mama that Nagihiko has a fever." Nagihiko wanted to retort, but then she gave him a big smile. "Don't worry! I'll be fine!"_

_Would she really?_

_**I still never really liked that game… every time she wanted to play the switcheroo game, she ended up having to do everything by herself while mother and I played together. Mother couldn't tell the difference when we were a lot younger because neither of us had much development in our bodies and we had the exact same voice tone. Once Nadeshiko and I got older and my voice started breaking, it was a bit more challenging, and the days got numbered. **_

_**At thirteen when we went out shopping for the house, the days were gone when the Gravekeepers took me away.**_

_**Maybe she had subconsciously erased the memory of me being taken away in her place… and that's why she came to terms by accepting mother's thoughts on me.**_

"Nagihiko?" Nagihiko whirled around, and sure enough, there was Nadeshiko. Her long hair was out of its ponytail, blowing in the summer breeze. He stood up.

"Nadeshiko…" She walked over to him.

"…I want an explanation now… What happened to you the last time we met? Why did those men take you away? Why… didn't you call home if you were alive…?" Nagihiko took her by her hands and kissed them a bit, trying to keep from crying.

"Because… I'm not alive right now…" Nadeshiko was appalled. "I'm nothing but a walking corpse, Nadeshiko… There are others like me, but we're not even allowed to be out like this… If we're out in broad daylight for more than a few hours at a time, eventually we'll begin to burn away."

"Why…?"

"It's a curse brought on by a guild that I was forced to join. We're called Gravekeepers. We are exterminated, and our souls become bound to a weapon based on our potent strength. And every night, we have to travel to various cemeteries all over the country and fight off restless spirits." Nagihiko held out his arm, and his naginata came sliding out, causing Nadeshiko to take a few steps back. He frowned. "Please… don't be afraid… I'm still the same brother you know."

_**Then tears fell from her eyes. She was shocked that she was crying, and within seconds she was sobbing uncontrollably. I hadn't seen her cry so badly since we were kids after she watched me being scolded harshly by our parents.**_

Nagihiko let the naginata fall to the ground and took Nadeshiko into his arms. She sobbed into his chest, and he gently rubbed the top of her head.

_**As I held Nadeshiko in my arms, I realized that now I was about four inches taller than she was, and though they were small, she had fully grown breasts now. Before we were split up, we were once the same height and had similar builds… Time really had sped up between us.**_

* * *

After things had calmed down, Nadeshiko and Nagihiko took a seat by a fountain at a park. Nagihiko had bought them both some chocolate ice cream, which he treasured since he hadn't had the sweet substance in over a year. He considered it a toast to Amu and Ikuto's relationship, who both adored the sweet even if they didn't know it.

"Hey, Nagihiko…"

"Hm?" He mumbled, mouthful of ice cream in his mouth. Nadeshiko looked to him, blushing a bit, then he swallowed.

"What do you say… we play a game?"

_**Bad sign, VERY bad sign!**_

"…No, Nadeshiko, I couldn't possibly play that game anymore… I can't last more than a few hours out in daylight, how could we possibly be able to swap places again, even for one day?"

"You're tactical, Nagihiko, you could easily think of ways to avoid the sun! Remember that 'condition' you had when you were younger about UV rays to get out of swimming classes?" Nagihiko nodded a bit. Nadeshiko actually had that condition on her own though. "Please… Let me see what they've been doing to you, and… you can see mom again."

_**I admitted to myself, I found the terms okay… but I wondered what would happen if they found out that Nadeshiko and I had swapped places again. **_

"…Okay. But only for today. Then tomorrow, you have to sneak back out and we'll switch back again. We can't risk any of the higher-ups finding out. Now, there are some things you need to know before you go to the guild…"

_**I explained to Nadeshiko that while she was there, she needed to keep up appearances at all times. Meaning, she had to keep from going out to fight Nightwalkers, and if she had to, I told her to bring along my two friends Kukai and Ikuto. They would surely protect her if I explained it. She also had to keep with how my voice tone is, which was easier for her since she had trained herself to do so when we first began the switcheroo game like I had. So in the end, she pretty much waved it all off and said that there was nothing to worry about.**_

"I have a cell phone with me. If anything goes wrong while you're at the Fujisaki household, contact me." She handed him a slip of paper with the number on it.

"All right."

"I'd like to meet your friends ahead of time before we decide to finalize this." Nadeshiko began, smile bright on her face.

"I'm sure that they'll like you a lot. Especially Kukai. He really likes girls that are graceful, and he especially likes them if they have long hair in ponytails and an appetite."

"Oh, really…? Are you trying to set me up with your friend?" Nadeshiko giggled. "Sorry, I don't eat as much as I should for some reason."

"Aw… Well, if it helps, I don't either. Anyways, let's go change out of our clothes and swap them. They should still be town somewhere."

* * *

Kukai and Ikuto sat outside of a café at a table, talking away about something that Nagihiko wouldn't have even guessed as he and Nadeshiko approached the table. When Ikuto and Kukai glanced up, they were both appalled. The only way they could tell the two apart was the fact that Nadeshiko still had her hair up in a ponytail.

"…Nagihiko…" Kukai stifled a laugh. Ikuto shot him a glance before continuing. "WHY the hell are you wearing a skirt?" By this time, Kukai was literally on the ground laughing. Nagihiko sweat-dropped, and Nadeshiko just giggled.

"…Guys… This is my twin sister, Nadeshiko." Nadeshiko waved a bit. "We're gonna switch places for all of today, meaning she's going back to the guild with you and I'm going back to my old house. Can I trust you to take care of her until we switch back tomorrow?"

"Oh yeah, sure, no problem!" Kukai replied. "She's really cute, Nagi!"

"…She looks exactly like Nagihiko, does that imply that you think that Nagihiko is cute?" Ikuto asked, now taking a sip of his cocoa—he always had a thing for chocolate.

"W-What?! No! Gross!"

"Actually, he thought I WAS a girl the first time we met in the guild. He almost tried to ask me out on a date. I happened to have my hair tied back, and he assumed it."

"N-Nagi, why?!"

"Because it's obvious that you have some sort of issue when it comes to girls…" Ikuto joked, his hand pressed under his chin, his eyes appearing calm and yet he looked more mysterious. The act made him look just a bit more settle, and after the day's events, he knew that he had a reason to be. "After all, we know how perverted you truly are now…"

"Ikuto, you're so cruel to me!" Kukai whined. Nagihiko just laughed a bit.

"Nagihiko, your friends are really interesting." Nadeshiko began. "I can see why you hang around them so much."

"By the way, Nagihiko… Did you take into consideration the consequences of this action you're taking?" Ikuto asked. Nagihiko's smile immediately faded into a frown. "What if we get caught with Nadeshiko and they find out? In addition, what about how we can't be out in daylight for more than a few hours at a time?"

"I used to have a condition where my skin would burn if I was out in the sun too long, and sometimes it still bothers me." Nadeshiko began. "If my family gets suspicious of Nagihiko, he could always just state that it was occurring again."

"We were always training ourselves to trade places," Nagihiko began, taking on Nadeshiko's voice. Ikuto and Kukai were stunned. "It won't be that hard to fool them unless Mother really tries to tell the difference between us."

"…Good thing I'm not old enough to drink alcohol, because if I were, I would be taking shots just to make this seem like it's a dream." Kukai replied, taking a sip of his coffee. And then Ikuto and Nagihiko smiled at one another. At least some things never changed.

_**After that, we all went our separate ways.**_

* * *

**There, part 1 is complete. :D **

**We saw that Nagihiko met up with Nadeshiko again and they decided to take a day in the life of each other for the first time in years... but what happened on Ikuto and Kukai's end?**


	7. The Outside World -Part 2- (Kukai)

**Part two to the previous chapter! This perspective is all Kukai now... **

**0_0 But I'm a bit concerned that I made him a bit TOO out of character, because I know that Kukai is far from someone who thinks about nothing but girls and weird things involving them. **

**XD Oh well, I guess it's intended for Kukai to be my comic relief character after all the drama has temporarily come to an end.**

* * *

Chapter 6:

Ikuto, Nagihiko and Kukai stood amongst a group of people, all three of them looking up towards the billboards. It had been so long that they had nearly forgotten just how vast downtown had looked, and they had all been born and raised in Tokyo.

"I remember… My house isn't that far away from here." Kukai began.

"Mine isn't either…" Ikuto breathed, continuing to stare up at the billboards as if he were anticipating something. "I wonder how my parents and my sister are doing… I wonder if they're still looking for me…"

"If they're anything like my parents are about me…" Nagihiko sighed. "Then they've probably given up on you by now." At that moment, two girls walked past Nagihiko, one being short with long curly blonde hair and the other with a long violet ponytail. They were talking and giggling together.

"Hey, Nagi, that girl looks a lot like you. That one with the ponytail." Kukai replied, looking to the girls as well before whistling. "Weird. It's almost like she could be your-" Nagihiko's eyes went wide and then he went dashing off. "N-Nagihiko, wait!"

"Just let him go." Ikuto began, shocking Kukai a bit. "He's found someone that he knows. We have to respect them having a bit of time together."

* * *

-Kukai-

_**Ikuto kept his eyes on the billboard the entire time that we stood in the streets. It seemed like he was waiting on something in particular, unless he was listening to the music of the idols. And personally, not all of them were that good anyways.**_

_** But then his eyes lit up when one artist in particular appeared on the billboard. On the billboard was a girl with knee-length blonde, braided pigtails wearing a pair of tan pants and a orange long-sleeved shirt. She was extremely pretty, I had to admit. **_

_**She waved a bit to the crowd, introducing herself as Utau Hoshina before she began singing. Her voice reminded me of old-style Enka singers, but with more of a pop tone to it…**_

_** It was different, but she somehow pulled it off with ease.**_

"…She actually made it as an idol…"

"You look really proud of her… Why?"

"…Oh. It's nothing important."

"Hey Ikuto, do you know that girl?" Ikuto nodded a bit before a slight grin pursed his lips. "…She's a really good singer. It's surprising she's just now become an idol."

"She wasn't allowed to go to auditions when she was younger because it would 'ruin her childhood'. I guess now Utau finally got her breakthrough."

"Those are some pretty interesting facts… And how do you know so much about her? Did you two used to go out or something?"

Ikuto shuddered at the very thought. "If you asked her, she'd probably say that… but no, nothing of the sorts. It's disgusting…" At that moment, he felt a hand on his shoulder and whirled around. There stood a girl with long blonde pigtails wearing sunglasses and a white sundress.

"Ikuto?" He blinked a few times, and then she took off the sunglasses, brushing a bang away from her violet eyes. She was completely beaming. "I can't believe you're here!"

"Hey there, Utau. Long time no see." He replied, smiling a bit.

"D-Did you just say Utau?" Kukai asked.

Utau rushed up and wrapped her arms around his neck, cuddling her face in his chest. Ikuto sighed before continuing. "You look like you've been doing well."

Kukai was confused. "T-This is Utau Hoshina, what's she doing HERE?!"

"Oh, I was out taking a walk to my manager's office to plan for another concert next week." Utau replied to Kukai. Then she held out a hand to him. "Well, you clearly know who I am. Who are you? Are you a friend of Ikuto's?"

"I am." Kukai replied, grabbing her hand and shaking it. He gave her a huge grin. "I'm Kukai Sohma. Nice to meet you, Utau." Utau was a bit flustered mentally, but nonetheless smiled back.

"Ikuto, where have you even been all this time?" Utau took Ikuto by his hands, causing him to instantly grow uncomfortable. "We've been really worried about you…"

"It's way too much to be able to explain to you right now, Utau…"

"I think we could give her the gist of it." Kukai began. "She does have a right to know what's been going on. You two are friends, right?"

"Actually, we're s-" Utau began, until Ikuto wrapped an arm around her shoulder. A shade of cherry overtook her pale complexion.

"SO close that we're practically best friends. Right, Utau?" She was at a loss for words. Ikuto found it easy to take advantage of her when he remembered that she had a brother-complex since they were kids. Utau hadn't always been around boys, and found Ikuto to be the most perfect one for her since they were so much alike.

_**The first time I had met Utau, I found her to be beautiful. However, I only assumed that she had been in unrequited love with Ikuto, and that they were childhood friends. It was easy to tell that she had. Still, I felt a sort of… disturbance from her. I wasn't sure what it was.**_

He leaned in close and whispered into her ear. "He doesn't know about you. How much free time do you have anyways?"

Utau's ear went red this time. "…I don't have to be at the office for another half hour or so. Why don't we all go get some tea or something, my treat? I know a pretty good place not too far away from where I have to be."

"That sounds great!" Kukai beamed. There was nothing he loved more than someone else paying for something he wanted with no consequences.

* * *

They reached a café a few blocks away. Kukai had ordered a coffee and Ikuto some hot chocolate. They all talked a bit about random things before they knew things had to get more and more tense. Utau took a few sips of her green tea before setting it aside. "So, explain to me what's been going on with you these past few months, Ikuto."

"Okay, so… We're a part of this underground group called the Gravekeepers. Every night, we have to travel to various cemeteries all over the country and fight off restless spirits." Ikuto began.

"Okay, that doesn't seem too suspicious… morbid, but not suspicious."

_**Utau was a pretty level-headed person despite being an idol, so noticing that she wasn't freaking out right away over something like this impressed me. I mean, Ikuto had been missing for months, and it seemed like Utau was extremely worried about him…**_

"That's not all there is to it. Upon being taken into captivity by the head of the Gravekeepers, we get beheaded, at least from what bit of what happened I do remember… and our souls become bound to a weapon based on our potent strength." Utau got wide-eyed.

"Then… you're…?" Ikuto grew silent. Kukai looked to him, then to Utau.

"Utau, listen… It's not his fault at all… You see, he met this girl within the guild, and…" Utau stood up at the very mention of those words.

Her eyes saddened a bit as she turned her attention to Ikuto. "…You met a girl?" Ikuto opened his mouth to speak, but naturally he couldn't find words. "…Who is she, Ikuto?"

_**Uh oh. Lover's quarrel.**_

Ikuto swallowed hard. Just picturing Amu being killed by Nikaidou almost made him lose the contents of his stomach. "…She was… the person I loved the most… obviously." Utau's mouth slightly dropped open. Not only was the girl someone he loved a lot. He said that she 'was' someone he loved.

"What happened to her…?"

_**Ikuto… looked so disappointed and hurt by that statement. Knowing that, I knew that I had to keep him from talking about it too much.**_

Kukai looked to Utau. "Listen, Utau… We've told you as much as we can, but I don't think that's really something that you should ask him right now. It still bothers him a lot."

"What don't you understand about 'was,' Utau?" Utau opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't find the words.

_**But to Utau, it didn't matter if she didn't have the words. It pained her inside to even imagine how Ikuto's relationship with Amu was... Nagihiko and I hardly even knew anything about it, because neither Amu yet alone Ikuto would even have considered mentioning it to us… but she knew that she would find them again. **_

"…I want to know about her. I have every right." Utau pressed on. Now Ikuto was beyond pissed. "Ikuto, you were never interested in girls before, why now?"

Ikuto got up from his seat, slamming his fist on the table. "She's GONE, okay? She died months ago. She was killed… She's dead… She's not ever coming back…" Tears welled in his eyes. "Does that make you feel better now, Utau?! Does it make you feel better to know something so sacred—so important to me that I wanted to be able to leave it in discretion to my own mind?!" Utau just stared at him before tears fell from her eyes at well.

"Ikuto, you went too far." Kukai exclaimed.

"…You never yelled at me like that before…" Ikuto was a bit stunned. "…Goodbye, Ikuto…" Then Utau turned away from him, the shimmer of the tears hitting the ground as she walked away.

"Utau, wait…" Ikuto held out a hand towards her, grabbing her by the arm. Utau froze slightly, but didn't once look up at him. She wouldn't let him see her cry. "…This won't be the last time we see each other… I swear it. Keep your eyes open for me. I'll come back. I promise."

Utau broke away from him. "…I'll believe it when I see it." Then she went on her way. Ikuto sighed, and then took his seat again.

"Ikuto, are you gonna be okay?"

"Yeah… Utau's going to get over it sooner or later. She's always like that. Don't worry about her." He took a few sips of his hot chocolate. It was starting to get lukewarm, and he grimaced at the taste. The marshmallows had even dissolved into the drink.

"Is she now…? You know, she's pretty cute. If you don't want her, can I have her?" Ikuto gave him a sharp glare.

"That depends. Do you want lukewarm hot chocolate on your body?"

"…No thank you."

"Then shut up and find a different question."

"You sure are protective of her. You two that close or something?" Ikuto didn't want to bring up the fact that they were related. That would only make him want to harm Kukai even more for suggesting such an idea. "Oh, hey look, Nagi's over there, and he's with some girl! She looks really cute too~!"

"You're such a pervert sometimes... It's amazing you're single." And for some reason, Ikuto found it a bit pleasurable that he wasn't the one being called that.

"Well yeah, for now I'm single!" Kukai beamed, now grinning fiercely. "There's definitely a lot of girls out there that'd probably love to be with a guy like me. I'm fun, energetic, I light up this world! I'd probably find someone I love easily even if I left Japan!"

"…And there's that famous Kukai Sohma pride taking over a better judgment." Kukai slumped.

_**I admit, I did have a lot of pride when it came to women. But who didn't knowing that there were so many out there to explore? I'm at an age to experiment.**_

_**Besides, there really are some pretty amazing girls out there. Right?**_

"Oh, you're really no fun, Ikuto."

"Hey guys!" When Ikuto and Kukai looked towards Nagihiko and the girl he was with—obviously his twin sister, they were both appalled.

The only way Kukai could tell the two apart was the fact that the girl still had her hair up in a ponytail. Ikuto only knew the difference when he noticed the lower half of the two. It was easy to tell which one was male at that point.

"…Nagihiko…" Kukai stifled a laugh. Ikuto shot him a glance before continuing. "WHY the hell are you wearing a skirt?" By this time, Kukai was literally on the ground laughing. Nagihiko sweat-dropped, and the girl just giggled. Ikuto rolled his eyes at the sight.

_**WHAT?! It WAS funny!**_

"…Guys… This is my twin sister, Nadeshiko." Nadeshiko waved a bit. Kukai blinked a few times, staring at her.

_**The resemblance between the two was so uncanny that it made me wonder what it would be like if I even had a twin sister. Like, would it be considered masturbation if we had sex like in some of those weird anime shows, or would it be incest? These are things to think about, people. **_**{A/N: ...This is inspired by a theory my boyfriend has. He's actually into this kind of thing. 0_0 We had a long argument over this after watching Yosuga no Sora, because I consider this relationship to be incestuous, and he considers it to be masturbation.}**

"We're gonna switch places for all of today, meaning she's going back to the guild with you and I'm going back to my old house. Can I trust you to take care of her until we switch back tomorrow?"

"Oh yeah, sure, no problem!" Kukai replied. "She's really cute, Nagi!"

"…She looks exactly like Nagihiko, does that imply that you think that Nagihiko is cute?" Ikuto asked, now taking a sip of his cocoa despite how much he hated the lukewarm taste. It was hot chocolate nonetheless, and he was going to have to live with it.

"W-What?! No! Gross!"

"Actually, he thought I WAS a girl the first time we met in the guild. He almost tried to ask me out on a date. I happened to have my hair tied back, and he assumed it."

"N-Nagi, why?!"

"Because it's obvious that you have some sort of issue when it comes to girls…" Ikuto joked, his hand pressed under his chin, his eyes appearing calm and yet he looked more mysterious. The act made him look just a bit more settle, and after the day's events, he knew that he had a reason to be. "After all, we know how perverted you truly are now…"

"Ikuto, you're so cruel to me!" Kukai whined. Nagihiko just laughed a bit.

"Nagihiko, your friends are really interesting." Nadeshiko began. "I can see why you hang around them so much."

"By the way, Nagihiko… Did you take into consideration the consequences of this action you're taking?" Ikuto asked. Nagihiko's smile immediately faded into a frown. "What if we get caught with Nadeshiko and they find out? In addition, what about how we can't be out in daylight for more than a few hours at a time?"

"I used to have a condition where my skin would burn if I was out in the sun too long, and sometimes it still bothers me." Nadeshiko began. "If my family gets suspicious of Nagihiko, he could always just state that it was occurring again."

"We were always training ourselves to trade places," Nagihiko began, taking on Nadeshiko's voice. Ikuto and Kukai were stunned. "It won't be that hard to fool them unless Mother really tries to tell the difference between us."

"…Good thing I'm not old enough to drink alcohol, because if I were, I would be taking shots just to make this seem like it's a dream." Kukai replied, taking a sip of his coffee. And then Ikuto and Nagihiko smiled at one another. At least some things never changed.

_**After that, we all went our separate ways again.**_

* * *

**So, pretty much the same ending, more perspectives, more words, and more fun with Kukai. **

**In addition, now Utau has been added into the story. Will she come to realize how she feels about Ikuto and Amu? Or will she pick someone else? ORRRRRR... will neither of these happen and everyone goes on with their lives since she doesn't have a part?**

**:D Read and review!**


	8. Through Different Eyes (Nade & Nagi)

**:D Next chapter's here now, guys! I decided to try something else different! **

**This chapter's gonna be in perspective of Nadeshiko AND Nagihiko...**

**0_0 But this chapter is primarily focused on Rimahiko.**

* * *

_**Chapter 7:**_

-Nadeshiko-

_**Entering the world Nagihiko had come to know for over a year… was the most horrifying thing I had yet to experience in all of my fourteen years. Inside of the guild were hundreds of people, all with weapons bent on destroying the creatures Nagihiko had called Nightwalkers. **_

_**And it wasn't even the weapons that scared me. **_

_**All of the people here harbored a sort of vengeful lust in their faces or a sense of pain and resentment. And when I looked at Ikuto, I knew he was the same as those who had pain and resentment deep within. Kukai seemed to have the vengeful lust aspect. I was curious as to why they felt these emotions towards the guild. Was it because they had been taken away from their families just like Nagihiko had? Or was there another reason?**_

"Stay close to us, Nadeshiko." Kukai began. "Whatever you do, don't let anyone else near you. The moment that someone tries to close in on you, you're finished." Nadeshiko nodded a bit.

"I understand." And Nadeshiko did understand, much more than even some of the members could. The moment she let her guard down, they'd eliminate her.

_**Kukai and Ikuto led me to Nagihiko's room. It was small compared to my room back home, but it was large enough to fit the one person that had occupied it. It was plain. There was a bed, a bathroom, and no window… all surrounded by white walls that nearly hurt my eyes. The bed didn't even have sheets that fit Nagihiko's personality, covered with a dull grey color.**_

"Do all of your rooms look like this?"

"Mostly. Ikuto's has a microwave, and his sheets are black… my sheets are white. Other than that, yeah, we pretty much all have the same room features."

Knowing that, I really didn't want to sleep alone.

"…What are the odds that I can sleep in one of your rooms tonight?" Ikuto and Kukai both got a bit shocked and looked to one another. Sharing a room… with another GIRL. It was unheard of to them unless they were in a relationship or messing around with her.

"Well, uh… What's the reason?" Kukai began.

"I just think it'd be awkward to sleep in Nagihiko's room on my own… Besides, I wouldn't mind getting to know the two of you a little better."

"If you want to stay with anyone, I recommend it be with me—Kukai would probably think it an opportunity to try and get in bed with a pretty girl. And Nagihiko would likely decapitate him if it were with you."

"What?! I would NEVER do something like that! You're talking about one of my best friend's twin sister! That's like sleeping with Nagihiko!" Kukai hissed.

"Well then." Nadeshiko scoffed. "I accept the offer, Ikuto."

"D-Don't get me wrong, I'm not a bad guy at all! Really, I'm not!" Kukai whined. Nadeshiko didn't look too pleased yet.

_**I wonder how Nagihiko's doing…**_

* * *

-Nagihiko-

_**I stood outside of the Fujisaki household for what felt like ages and tugged on Nadeshiko's hair bow a bit… The red ribbon she left me with was safely tucked in my back pocket. I hadn't seen the place in just over a year, but it still looked exactly the way I remembered it. Large, noble… when I was a child, it felt like a kingdom… and I was one of its prisoners instead of royalty.**_

_** But things would be different now.**_

_** I would be in a place where no one knew who I was. Nothing would be what it was as a child anymore… I was an adult in their eyes. I just wondered how well I could hide it under these clothes, wondered how well I could really become Nadeshiko.**_

"Oh, Nadeshiko, there you are!" Nagihiko whirled around, and there he noticed Rima. He blinked a few times, recalling the events of that day. He cleared his throat a bit before taking on her cheery tone.

"Oh, hi there… Rima…"

_**It felt awkward calling her by name since we had only met once, and we were already on horrible terms… but Nadeshiko said she had known her since they were in elementary school. Nadeshiko should have been a second year middle school student by now. **_

"I was wondering what happened to you after we met with that weird guy back in town. Where'd you go anyways?"

"Weird guy?" Then he realized she meant him. "Oh, you mean that guy Nagihiko! Yeah, um… he's really weird, I don't know what's up with him. I just took a walk and then headed back home, no need to worry about me. I never saw him again after that."

"Good. The last thing I need is some weirdo taking my best friend away from me." Nagihiko could feel a bead of sweat rolling down the back of his neck.

"Y-Yeah… weirdo…"

"So, are we going to head back out shopping? The day's still young, and summer vacation's not over for another couple of days-"

"A-Ah, no!" Nagihiko accidentally exclaimed, slightly in his own voice, realizing he didn't have much longer to be outside. Rima was a bit stunned. He swallowed before continuing in Nadeshiko's voice. "…I mean… no… I… I was thinking that we could hang out here for a while."

"That sounds fun. I always like hanging out at your place anyways."

_** Good… She didn't suspect a thing. **_

"Great!"

"Aren't you gonna open the door?" Nagihiko paused.

"…Huh?" She got a bit closer, hands folded across her chest. It nearly startled him by how close she was.

"The door, Nadeshiko. Aren't you going to open it?" Rima repeated.

"I… don't have my key…?" Nagihiko felt cold just looking at her stare.

"You never forget your own house key. You're never forgetful. You even remember things about what I have to do. Is there something on your mind, Nadeshiko?"

"I-It's just been a long day, and I really want to be able to relax with you, Rima." Not even five minutes had gone by and Nagihiko already found himself wondering if he had been found out.

"…All right. I understand that. It probably has been a long day for you. You may as well just ring the doorbell and ask your maid to let you in…"

Nagihiko remembered that his family had a housemaid, one that had been a longtime worker of the Fujisaki household. She had worked there since their mother was a child, and she was practically a part of the family, so Nadeshiko and Nagihiko even referred to her as their aunt at times.

"Right, of course." Nagihiko reached out and rang the doorbell once. After a bit, a short woman with graying hair tied in a bun came out, smile bright on her face.

"Oh! Lady Nadeshiko, hello, welcome home!"

_**Seeing Baaya for the first time in a while, I almost wanted to hug her. She had been one of the only members of the household that remained kind to me despite Nadeshiko and I constantly competing for our family's fortune. She had been the only one to treat us as though we equals.**_

Nagihiko gave her a warm smile. "Hello, Baaya. Is it all right if Rima joins us for the day?"

"Oh, of course! Rima is always welcome here!" Baaya replied. Rima bowed a bit to her before giving her a gentle, almost regal smile.

"I really do appreciate it." Nagihiko felt heat creeping onto his face.

_**I hadn't paid much attention to it at first because all she had done was yell, but Rima's voice was small, almost as soft to listen to as the sound of a mouse. Even her appearance alone was that of a regal person… Long blonde, curly hair, big honey colored eyes… It didn't help that she was small herself too. I never once noticed just how cute she was. Then again, any friend of Nadeshiko's, at least in my eyes, had to be nothing less than cute and nothing more than elegant, just as she was. Our mother would never allow anything less.**_

"No trouble at all, any friend of the Lady's is most definitely welcome!"

_**Now that I think about it…**_

_**If I got free from the Gravekeepers someday… and one day I came home as myself again… would I be able to bring Kukai and Ikuto along with me to visit?**_

* * *

-Nadeshiko-

Ikuto, Kukai and Nadeshiko took a seat at one of the cafeteria tables for a late lunch. Kukai assumed Nadeshiko would be hungry, and it was quickly confirmed when the girl's stomach growled moments afterwards.

"It feels so strange having to wear my hair down so much. Doesn't Nagihiko tie his back at all? It must get annoying having it in his face so much, and then having it touching your ears. Man, long hair is a pain, but having it just touch your ears too is even MORE annoying."

_**…Yes, girl problems, I know, but that's how we are sometimes. Girls who wear ponytails a lot generally are more used to it, so much that they almost hate leaving it down.**_

Ikuto and Kukai looked to one another, and then back at Nadeshiko.

"Does it bother you that much? Just tie it back then." Ikuto replied. "Nagihiko ties it back sometimes when it's hot or he's training." He pulled a rubber band from his pocket. "It's summer, so go for it. No one would think anything of it."

"You do know those damage your hair, right?"

"…Uh, Nadeshiko, let's keep in mind that I'm a guy. I don't worry much about growing my hair, nor do I really pull it back anyways." Ikuto held the rubber band out to her again, serious expression on his face. "It's temporary, and it's not going to kill you. Now tie."

_**I didn't know how I could object to that grim expression on his face. I was scared he jump up and hurt me, his eyes were so dark.**_

Slowly, Nadeshiko took the rubber band from him and pulled her hair upward, tying it back with the elastic follicle killer. Then she smiled at the two. Kukai blinked a few times.

"…Now I can definitely tell the difference."

"You couldn't tell when they stood next to each other, in one another's clothes? They clearly have different body parts-"

"What are you talking about?" Ikuto, Kukai and Nadeshiko froze at the voice. Then they glanced up simultaneously, and there they found Kairi, a book in his hands. Nadeshiko blinked a few times. Who was this guy and why did he look so studious?

"Oh, Kairi, hey!" Kukai beamed.

"What was that about dressing in one another's clothes?"

"Oh, well…" Ikuto tried to think up the first thing that came to his mind. That first thing happened to be Utau. An idol. "…We were talking about this idol unit! They're formed of all guys, and one of them dressed up like a female! It was weird, because he looked so much like a girl."

"We were?" Nadeshiko kicked Kukai in the shin from under the table. "Ow! I-I mean, we WERE."

"Ignore Kukai. He has a small issue when it comes to messing things up." Nadeshiko stretched the last three words of her sentence in her Nagihiko tone. Kukai playfully shrugged.

"…You are Nagihiko Fujisaki, correct?" Kairi began.

"Uh, yes…" Kairi nodded casually before turning to leave. Then he turned around and leaned in towards her, staring her directly in the face.

"So, tell me something." Kairi reached out a hand, placing it on her chest. Nadeshiko felt her body go instantly cold. "Precisely how long have you been a woman…?"

_**HE WAS TOUCHING MY BREASTS!**_

Then Kairi smirked, reaching his hand down towards her pants. Nadeshiko flinched as she felt his cold hands touching her purest body part. Kukai and Ikuto sprang into action the moment his hands had gotten close to her, both drawing their weapons and pointing them directly at Kairi's head.

"HANDS OFF!" Ikuto roared. Kairi glanced up at him in the corner of his eye. "NOW!"

"You should know that bringing in non-members is high treason. I'm one of the highest in the deduction field. All I would have to do is report this to the higher ups and they could kill her, and possibly kill you as well."

"It doesn't matter!" Ikuto pushed Kairi away from Nadeshiko. She immediately ran and hid behind him. "Touch her again, I'll kill you myself, and that is NO threat!"

"You have a lot of nerve, Ikuto Tsukiyomi."

"I'm aware." As he was beginning to calm himself again, Ikuto placed his hand on Nadeshiko's shoulder. She glanced up at him. "Let's go." Nadeshiko felt comforted by his touch, feeling a bit more at ease as she walked off with Ikuto.

"Thank you, Ikuto…"

Kukai glared back at Kairi. "…That wasn't like you, Kairi."

"…We must all take drastic measures to uncover the truth."

"Screw you and your truth. I'm in compliance with Ikuto." He pointed the gun directly at his forehead, and Kairi mentally cringed at the cool texture of the bottle. "Touch her again… and you're gonna get a bullet to the brain." Then he pulled back and ran off after his friends. "Ikuto… I've never seen you like that before…"

"…Sorry you had to see that." Ikuto sighed a bit. "I tend to get like that sometimes… It's probably because I… I just can't stand seeing a girl in danger when she's vulnerable."

"Why's that?" Nadeshiko began.

"I have a little sister… It's just something that I've naturally felt ever since I was a kid. If she was in danger, even if I had to act like I don't really care about her because we're siblings and it's a natural thing to do… the moment someone tries to come after her, I step in and fight for her. I would never let anyone hurt her. I would never let any girl be in danger like that again if it were up to me."

"…Thinking about Amu again?" Kukai sighed. Ikuto went silent.

"…Amu?" Nadeshiko asked, blinking a few times. "As in… Amu Hinamori?"

"You know her?" Ikuto replied.

"She was one of my best friends in elementary school, and then we went to different middle schools. We still kept in touch, but then one day, she just stopped talking to me… And then I read an article in the newspaper about her family getting into a car accident, and all of them were dead… But they said that Amu's body was never found."

"That's because the Gravekeepers took her body and bonded it with a weapon, just like they did to us and Nagihiko. We never get any contact with the outside world…" Kukai stated. "We had to do it in secrecy anyways. Nagihiko finding you was purely coincidence."

"…So Amu was here the entire time… Where is she now? Can I see her?"

"…She's not here. She was killed by one of the members of the guild some months ago." Nadeshiko covered her mouth, in pure shock. "I have to go…" Ikuto went ahead of the two.

"Ikuto, wai-" Nadeshiko started to reach out towards him, but Kukai grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him. She looked into his emerald eyes, a bit stunned by the saddened expression on his face. His eyes looked emotionless, but still he harbored a sort of unknown sorrow.

"Nadeshiko… I wouldn't bother him about Amu. They were… in a deep relationship when Amu got killed. Ikuto knows that she was killed because she interacted with him while he wasn't a member of the guild, and it still bothers him a lot." Nadeshiko buried her face in his chest.

"…I understand… It's just upsetting… all of this time passed, I thought Amu didn't want to be friends with me anymore, and…" Kukai pat her head a bit.

"I know the feeling…"

* * *

-Nagihiko-

Rima and Nagihiko sat in Nadeshiko's room drinking tea. Nagihiko was stunned to find a video game system in her room—he never saw Nadeshiko as the type to even like video games. That was more along his field. They did manage to get in a few racing games, which surprisingly, Rima was good competition at, but Nagihiko ultimately was the superior one. Rima in response just stated that she had more practice.

Now they were talking about school, and occasionally Nagihiko would have to make things up about what Nadeshiko had mentioned about their school—he hadn't been in school since his first year of middle school. Now Nadeshiko and Rima were third years.

"So, do you have any guys that interest you? I noticed a lot of guys tend to make googly eyes at you. It's cute, but I was curious." Rima asked.

Nagihiko had no idea how he was supposed to answer that. He was a guy. A straight guy at that. He wasn't interested in guys; he was barely interested in girls right now. Then he sighed a bit, taking another sip of his tea before answering. "…No, I'm not interested in anyone right now."

"Aw, that sucks… Then again, I'm sure any guy would feel like the luckiest person in the world to date someone like you. I mean, you're beautiful, intelligent, graceful…" Rima giggled a bit. "You're practically the school's queen."

Nagihiko blinked a few times. She really felt that way around Nadeshiko? "…I would have expected** you** to be known as the school's queen. You even look like a queen." Then he caught his words and once again threw tea down his throat despite how hot it was sliding down.

_**WHY had I said that, I wondered…? True, in my eyes Rima did look like a queen in terms of her appearance, but Nadeshiko was my only queen, right? She was the only person I had ever compared to the brilliance and radiance of royalty. Was Rima different? **_

Rima lightly blushed at the words, and then once again laughed at him. Nagihiko glanced at her. The light from the sun outside danced off of her long blonde hair, and her face practically sparkled as she giggled and smiled.

_**Her face… Her smile… Deep inside, past all of the arguing she found in my true self, she was a truly beautiful person… And I was able to see it firsthand. It made me fear what would happen if she had found me out and discovered that I was really a guy in disguise. Would she stop putting knowledge into my head? Or even worse… would she distrust Nadeshiko?**_

"I don't really think I look that much like a queen…"

"You do!" Nagihiko pressed on. "Much more than me, at least!"

Rima blinked a few times. "Nadeshiko, I've never heard you talk so modestly before. Not that you aren't a modest person, I've just never heard it so strongly."

Nagihiko covered his mouth slightly. He forgot how impulsive he could be compared to Nadeshiko. Then he gave her a smile, feigned, but an attempt at winning her over in his act. "Sorry. I get like that sometimes. I just never really show it."

"I understand. It's like me and comedy."

"You like comedy?" Nagihiko replied. Rima glanced up.

"You forgot that? I told you that years ago." Nagihiko froze up. He was slipping up a lot all too quickly. At this rate, Rima was going to catch him in the act.

"Sorry, it slipped my mind. I just never struck you as someone who liked comedy so much. I mean, I'm not into it myself, to me it's a bit bland…" Rima gave him a cold stare.

"Comedy is NOT bland! It's one of the greatest forms of entertainment out there!" Nagihiko sweat-dropped at the shout. Her demeanor had completely changed all too quickly. "I've never seen a single person go to a comedy movie or come from a comedy show and NOT have at least laughed once!"

Nagihiko placed his hands on her shoulders. "I-I-I'm sorry…" He innocently bat his eyelashes at her. "Please forgive me?"

"…Okay, fine." Rima playfully rolled her eyes. "But just this once. Okay?"

"Okay!" Nagihiko grinned. "Wanna go back to playing video games now?"

"Sure, why not? I could use all the practice I can get kicking your butt."

"Oh, is that so? Well, bring it on then, QUEEN Rima."

"Oh, it's BRUNG." Rima and Nagihiko flew for controllers and set up the game, instantly going head to head in their game.

After a few hours of this, the two finally got fed up with all the racing games, and even some of the shooter games that Rima failed horribly at. Looking out of the window and noticing that the once brimming sunlight had gone away, Rima sighed a bit.

"It's getting late. I should probably call my parents and let them know that I'll be home soon." When Rima opened her pink cell phone, she noticed a text message. "Mama…" Scanning over the words, her expression went grim and she closed the phone again. "On second thought… do you think I could stay here for the night?"

"What?!" Nagihiko slightly squeaked, nearly dropping the game he was putting back into its case again. He cleared his throat and then looked to Rima again. "I mean… I'll ask Baaya for you, but... Is something wrong?"

Rima managed to smile a bit. "No. It's nothing. Don't worry about it. I just figured it would probably be better to stay here since it's getting so late…"

_**I knew the expression on her face all too well. She looked like she was hiding something behind that cute smile of hers.**_

"…I'll go tell Baaya." Then Nagihiko left the room. Once he had closed the door behind him, he sighed a bit and pulled the red ribbon of Nadeshiko's from his pocket, staring at it. "…I wonder how you managed to do it."

* * *

Nagihiko came into the kitchen, where he noticed Baaya cooking something. "Baaya?"

Baaya glanced back and then smiled when she saw him. "Oh, Lady Nadeshiko, hello there. Are you enjoying your evening?"

"Yes. I wanted to know if Rima could stay the night with us."

"Of course, we would very much enjoy having her company. Dinner will be ready soon. Would you like me to prepare a bath for you two?"

Nagihiko froze at the very thought. Him and Rima taking a bath together… not even couples were allowed to do that, let alone the two of them, two people that were opposite sex and had only just met today for the first time. Yet… it somehow made him feel a bit warm inside.

"No thank you. I may not want to have a bath yet, it has been a long day, after all." Nagihiko turned to leave.

"I am surprised that you were not as impulsive this time around. You really have grown up fine after all, Young Master."

"Oh, you think so? Well, I'm glad you-"

_**It was at that moment that I realized that Baaya hadn't said 'Lady' to me just then. She had said 'Young Master' instead.**_

"…Oh crap…" Nagihiko literally hit himself upside the head. Baaya gave him a certain look that nearly made Nagihiko want to cower in fear.

"Did you honestly believe you could fool me? I helped to raise you! It's even harder for you to pull that trick now that you and Nadeshiko are so much older!" Then Baaya went up and hugged him tightly. Nagihiko was a bit surprised. "I spent so much time wondering what had happened to you… When Nadeshiko came back alone a year ago, I was in so much shock… And then I see you show up at the front door with Rima… I could hardly contain myself, but I knew it was you." She looked up at him.

Nagihiko could feel tears welling in his own eyes and he immediately threw his arms around her, sobbing uncontrollably. "Baaya! I'm so sorry…!" Baaya gently stroked his hair, smiling slightly.

Within a minute or so, the two were sitting at the table, Nagihiko already having his hair down and still wiping away tears with one of Baaya's handkerchiefs.

"Nagihiko." He glanced up at her. "Where have you been, Nagihiko, where…?"

"…I really wish I could explain it… But you probably wouldn't understand… I barely do myself." Nagihiko replied, resting his head on the table. Then he noticed Baaya's expression and sat up quickly. "I really am sorry to come back on these circumstances. How is mother?"

"Your mother is the same as always, dear… Focusing hard on trying to keep the home together, succeeding in making Nadeshiko a rising Kabuki star… But you didn't catch her this time. She went to Europe in hopes of trying to enroll Nadeshiko into a private school there against her wishes."

"…Europe…?" Nagihiko had been there before, and knew he would love to go back, but not forever. And now Nadeshiko may have had to go.

"I wanted to ask before, why did you come back dressed as Nadeshiko? Couldn't you both just come home together?"

"It's not that simple… I'm actually not even supposed to be outside of my perimeter."

_**Baaya didn't look too convinced, and why would she have been? I mean, how could I have explained that I'm part of the walking dead, killing off restless spirits at night with a naginata and burn away in the sun if I'm out for more than a few hours at a time? Think about it. Would YOU believe something like that?**_

"Nadeshiko? Are you in here?" Nagihiko and Baaya heard Rima call from a distance.

"…Does Rima know anything about you?"

Nagihiko frantically began tying his hair back into a ponytail again. "Well, we met earlier, but no, she doesn't know I'm a guy or that Nadeshiko and I even switched."

Baaya leaned in close enough for Nagihiko to hear her whisper. "Well, it'll shock her, so I don't recommend letting her figure it out anytime soon." Then Rima came into the room seconds later.

"There you are, Nadeshiko." Rima crossed her arms, giving Nagihiko a somewhat pouty expression. "I was waiting a while…" Nagihiko and Baaya looked to one another.

"Baaya said that you're welcome to say. We were just talking about dinner."

"Ah, yes! We'll be having Mizutaki. Is there any particular type of sweet you would like with the meal, Rima, Nadeshiko?" Nagihiko mentally sighed of relief. Baaya was definitely really good at hiding the truth about him… _**{A/N: Mizutaki is a hot pot with chicken and other ingredients. ^_^} **_

"I wouldn't mind having kushidango." Nagihiko began before turning his attention to the short blonde, smile on his face. "Is that okay with you, Rima?" _**{A/N: If you ever watched Clannad, you would know that dangos are sweet dumplings. Kushidango is skewered sweet dumplings.}**_

Rima gave him a smile. "I like those."

"All right. Well, that's good then. I'll get to work right away. Everything should be done within the hour." Then Nagihiko noticed a smirk curve onto Baaya's face. "So, would the two of you like to have a bath in the meantime…?"

Nagihiko's face went cherry instantaneously, and he waved his hands slightly in front of him as if to wave the entire idea away. "B-Baaya, it's all right!"

Rima looked to Nadeshiko with a somewhat melancholic expression. "But we always have baths together when I stay the night."

"U-Um…" Nagihiko thought of the image in his head of the two girls bathing together… playing around… splashing one another… comparing breast sizes-

And just the mere thoughts of those two bathing together nearly made my brain fry. I think Kukai's perverted behavior is starting to rub off on me… because nothing had ever been more vivid in my mind than such actions.

"…It's all right. I can go first." Rima replied.

* * *

"So, why did you want to stay the night, Rima?"

"…I just…" She sighed.

"Don't worry." Nagihiko placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a comforting smile. "You can tell me anything. I promise."

"…Okay, just… Promise me that you won't tell anyone."

"I promise."

"Alright… I've been having problems with my parents lately. They've been arguing a lot… I think they're even planning on getting a divorce. I just… I don't know what I can do… They've been arguing because of me…"

"I'm sure that's not it, Rima…"

Rima curled up into a small ball and turned away. "I was nearly kidnapped when I was in elementary school… all because I was cute. My parents put the blame on one another after that, and ever since then, they've been arguing…"

…_**How could they have ignored her like that…? **_

Nagihiko looked closer and noticed tears racing down the blonde's face. "I tried so hard to make them smile again, but… They were never able to get along well again… I just wanted my parents to know just how I felt…" His eyes saddened.

_**I never once imagined that someone could ever try to hurt Rima… but then again, I never wished that anyone could be hurt in such a way.**_

_** And deep inside… I knew that the reason Rima didn't want to go home…**_

_** Is because she didn't want to go back to being lonely.**_

Nagihiko got up and slowly wrapped his arms around her, locking her in an embrace. Rima glanced up slightly, staring at him with bright honey eyes. He pat her head and continued to hold her close. Someone had to… someone had to embrace her pain…

Someone had to keep her smiling.

* * *

Rima was already in the large bath when Baaya approached Nagihiko and then handed him a couple of towels. "Could you give these towels to Rima for me?"

"Oh, um… Okay then." Then Nagihiko made his way towards the bath area, slowly pulling back on the door. "Rima? I'm coming in…" He stepped inside and found Rima over by the showers… her hair was all up in a ponytail, and she was naked with nothing but a towel over her tiny body… just finishing cleaning herself off.

Rima blinked a few times as he stared at her. "Nadeshiko?" Then Nagihiko fell to the ground, small droplets of blood flowing out of his nose. "Nadeshiko! Are you okay?!" Rima ran over to him, shaking his shoulders.

"H-Holy crap…" Rima stared at him. He had spoken in his normal voice.

"…You… sounded just like that guy from earlier…" Nagihiko snapped out of it the moment he heard those words. Quickly, he tried to continue his act.

"Oh, u-um…"

"What's going on here?" Rima said, a bit more stern this time. Nagihiko went silent. "Answer me! What's going on?! Are you EVEN Nadeshiko?!"

"…Rima, listen, I can explain-" Nagihiko spoke in his normal voice.

"You don't have the right to call me by my normal name!" She exclaimed. "All of this time, you were that guy…! And I… I had the nerve to tell YOU about my family!" Nagihiko reached out a hand towards her, and Rima slapped it away, tears brimming in her eyes. "No! Don't touch me! Get AWAY from me!"

Never had Nagihiko seen an expression so fierce.

She turned, grabbed her clothes and then ran off from him.

"Rima! Rima, wait!" He ran after her. After a bit, he finally caught up to her. When she tried to run again, he grabbed her by the arm and pinned her to the floor.

"G-Get off of me!" She kicked and screamed, trying to break away.

"Not until you listen to me!" Rima continued to try and break away, and Nagihiko kept a grip on her. "Nadeshiko and I never wanted to deceive you! I just wanted to see my family again, and Nadeshiko wanted to see where I had been all of this time, so we switched! If I explained it all to you, you would never be able to understand! Don't you get that?!"

"Please let me go!" Rima cried out. "I hate you!"

Nagihiko just shook his head, trying not to do anything to harm her at that moment. Being in the Gravekeepers had made him even more impulsive than he already was.

"...I understand…" He got off of her. "…I understand if you want to leave right now… but I want you to know one thing before you decide that. Even if it was through Nadeshiko's eyes to you… I never once lied to you, Rima. And neither would she." Then he walked off.

"…Hold on a second!" She grabbed him by the arm. Nagihiko didn't look back at her and instead pulled the bow from his hair. The long, violet locks fell down his back, and nearly covered Rima's hand. Then he looked to her, a sad expression on his face.

"Are you talking to me, or to Nadeshiko?" She gripped a bit tighter.

"…I want to talk to the person that told me that held me without words as I cried in his arms."

Nagihiko lightly smiled. "Then that would be the person named Nagihiko." Nagihiko moved his arm a bit and then grabbed her hand. "And that's the person you're currently looking at. Right?"

Rima lightly blushed. "Y-Yeah…"

Nagihiko reached up his free hand, lightly brushing it across her cheek. She tried not to look him in the eye, but found it hard to look away. Then he wiped away her tears.

"…You know… It's not tears that suit you. Tears don't prove that you're only human all the time… A smile suits you much more. It's much more… beautiful to see a smile on your face. I learned that about you tonight. And Rima… I hope that I get to learn more about you in the long run."

Then Nagihiko leaned forward, gently pressing his lips against hers. Rima slowly closed her eyes and took in the moment. His lips were soft… and his hair tickled her cheeks.

Baaya peaked out from not too far off and giggled a bit to herself.

_**Quickly, I found that I wanted to know more about the real Rima. The Rima who cried to me about her family… who smiled at me from small words… the Rima who I wanted to treasure forever.**_

* * *

-Nadeshiko-

Nadeshiko sat in Ikuto's room, staring up at the ceiling. The blue-haired boy was sleeping on the floor for the evening. The entire time her mind was fixated on what Kairi had stated.

"…Maybe I shouldn't come back here anymore…" She sighed, now lying on her back. "But I know Nagihiko wants to be able to see mother and father again… It wouldn't seem fair to be selfish like that… He deserves it after all of the torment he's gone through this past year…" She turned on her side, looking to Ikuto. He looked a bit restless.

_**Maybe they all deserve a bit of a break… And tomorrow, when Nagihiko and I have to switch back… I think I'll give that to them.**_

* * *

-Nagihiko-

_**That very night, Rima and I slept in the same bed together. To me, it felt a bit relaxing to know that she didn't like me, but at the same time, she didn't hate me. Our relationship was going to be complex… but it was going to be something I know I wouldn't regret. **_

"Rima?"

"Hm…?" Nagihiko wrapped an arm around her petite body and snuggled against her.

"Good night~" Rima rolled her eyes.

* * *

**0_0 I actually didn't want to put Rimahiko into the story too early... but after going and re-reading Shugo Chara Encore chapter 2 while planning this chapter, I got inspired and just thought 'Hey, why not? Rimahiko's good, why not just throw it in now?'**

**I don't think it turned out bad, given I never really had Rimahiko moments, just implied them. :D How'd I do?**


	9. Switch (Ikuto & Nagihiko)

**... 0_0 I finally get a chapter out again, and it feels so... uneventful. **

**It's just Nagihiko and Nadeshiko switching back. I'm not sure if I like how I did this one...**

**Don't worry though, next chapter will definitely have a lot more action coming up! I actually planned it all out ahead of time. ^_^**

* * *

_**Chapter 8: **_

-Ikuto-

_**Today Nadeshiko and Nagihiko would be switching back again. Nadeshiko had thanked us for the time spent watching over her, and Kukai and I were just thankful that we didn't have to bring her out into the fields with us. Now we only had to worry about escaping the guild again and taking her back home, getting Nagihiko back, and managing to sneak back in.**_

"Nadeshiko, we're going to head back into the city as soon as the tournaments are scheduled. Does that sound good to you?" Kukai asked as the three were having breakfast.

"I would like to leave as soon as we are possibly able." Nadeshiko replied almost too quickly. "How soon will it be before this tournament?"

"Well-" As soon as Ikuto was prepared to respond, groups began to get up in numbers and exit the cafeteria area. "…I guess right now."

"Amazing timing!" Nadeshiko beamed, now scrambling to finish her meal. Kukai and Ikuto were stunned by this—apparently they hadn't known many girls that ate quickly. Then again, she WAS related to Nagihiko, who only pulled such stunts when it was absolutely necessary. Otherwise, both were perfect little angels compared to them.

"Don't choke…" Kukai mumbled, handing the girl a napkin. Nadeshiko blushed a bit before wiping the crumbs off of her mouth. "All done?" She nodded. "Good. Let's get out of here while we have the chance."

"And go where, per say?" The three glanced back in time to see Kairi, a sword in his left hand. He pushed his frames up a bit towards his face. "Perhaps, to return your female friend home?"

"Back off. Kairi." Ikuto hissed, now drawing his scythe and standing in front of Nadeshiko and Kukai as if to shield them. "Or this time, I won't spare your life."

"Let the girl be dealt with properly, Ikuto. She doesn't belong here."

"What, and you think we do? Get a grip!"

Kairi just sighed. "To think, I was going to let you two get away with not getting in trouble with the officials because I was dumb enough to have a heart…"

"…Well, we're ready and able to take you down if we have to!" Kukai exclaimed.

"Kukai, get Nadeshiko out of here!" Ikuto exclaimed.

Kukai blinked a few times, pointing to himself. "Eh? You mean me?" Then he pouted a bit. "Darn, I was hoping to burn calories."

"GO, Kukai!" Ikuto hissed.

"Take one step and I report you!" Kairi exclaimed.

"Don't let that scare you!" Kukai and Nadeshiko looked between the two, then to each other.

"We're in deep trouble, aren't we?" Nadeshiko whispered.

"Don't let Kairi scare you." Kukai replied, patting her head a bit. Then he glared up at Kairi, letting his hands drop at his sides and drawing his pistols. "Ikuto… YOU should get Nadeshiko out of here. I've always wanted to try my hand against Kairi."

"What, are you stupid?!" Ikuto and Kairi exclaimed.

"Nah, just impulsive. Now move out of my way." Kukai moved past Ikuto.

_**I really didn't understand Kukai sometimes, but maybe once in a while he could be justified in his actions. And I trusted him enough… so I decided to go.**_

Ikuto took Nadeshiko by the hand and led her off as quickly as possible. As soon as Kairi was about to interject, Kukai sprang forward and then hit the boy upside the head with his gun, instantly knocking him out.

Kukai smirked, spinning the gun around in his hand a bit. "I knew this thing would be more useful than Ikuto's scythe." Then he put it back in its holster and went off after Nadeshiko and Ikuto.

_**I held onto Nadeshiko's hand the entire time we were escaping the building, and occasionally I glanced back at her. She looked a bit disoriented—she was even blushing a bit and constantly looking down at the hand I held in hers. **_

…_**Great. Nadeshiko likes me. That's exactly what I needed at a time like this. I know I've got good genes thanks to my dad, but I really wished girls didn't fawn over me…**_

"Hey! Ikuto!" Ikuto glanced back and skidded to a stop when he saw Kukai.

"Whoa, that was quick. What did you do?"

"Eh, I just hit him one good time and he went down. You know, you would think for a samurai that he would be a lot more agile…"

"…That… IS pretty suspicious…"

"…He didn't want to hurt any of us." Nadeshiko began, causing the two to look up at her. "He didn't want to hurt us. That was why he didn't try to attack from the moment we decided to leave. It's almost like… he understands why Nagihiko and I decided to switch in the first place."

"So, what you're saying is that Kairi actually has a heart?" Kukai concluded. "…Enough to actually care about what happens to us?"

"That's just my own theory." Nadeshiko replied. "If you had paid attention to the expression on his face, you could see the doubt that he harbored. Kairi… is on your side."

"_But I will challenge you again someday, and next time, I will not hold back… Ikuto Tsukiyomi."_

…_**Kairi really **_**hadn't **_**been looking to fight then. It was clear to me. If he had been serious, none of us would have walked out of this building without scars, possibly not even alive. But why? Why was he on our side now?**_

"…Forget about him. We need to go. Nagihiko is waiting for us."

* * *

Hours before, Nagihiko had awoken, questioning whether or not the night he had spent with Rima had all been a dream or not. And every time he looked over at her and saw her still sleeping face, he knew that it was all real.

He had kissed Rima, his older twin sister's best friend, invoking his own indirect confession. They had only just met the previous day. And even now, he was wondering what had overcome him so suddenly. Maybe, just maybe, they had been fated to meet.

"…Maybe this is how Amu and Ikuto felt…" Then he sighed, lying back on the futon a bit, throwing an arm over his eyes. "…I found someone special outside of the world I have to live in… only to have to leave permanently… or cause both of us to perish."

"What are you talking about?" Rima asked. She sat up, glancing over at him, her blond locks tied back into a ponytail to keep out of her face. Nagihiko went silent. "Is there something you haven't told me, Nagihiko?"

"…Um… It's a really long story? I don't really have the time to explain either. I have to go and get Nadeshiko so that we can switch back. My friends should be escorting her back to the downtown area."

"May I come along? I'd love to be able to meet your friends."

"A-Are you sure about that?" She untied her hair and let it flow down her back, giving him a gentle smile.

"You don't want me to get close, Na-gi-hi-ko?" Nagihiko's face went crimson, and Rima just giggled. "Wow, you're too easy to tease."

"That was teasing?!" Nagihiko exclaimed, now flustered. She stood up from her place on the futon. The light blue nightgown that Nadeshiko often let her borrow suited her petite body well, Nagihiko thought.

"Shall we start getting ready? I'm sure that your friends will be waiting patiently for us." He nodded in agreement, getting up from his spot as well.

"You have a point." The two got up, went and got dressed, and then entered the kitchen, where they found Baaya starting on breakfast.

"Good morning." Rima stated.

"Ah, good morning, Miss Rima…" Baaya lowered her voice slightly. "Young Master-"

Nagihiko got right to the point. "Baaya, listen… I have to leave today. We're going to switch-" Baaya looked a bit shocked by his words.

"Today? Y-Your mother is…!"

"Huh? Mother?" Then a woman with brown hair tied into a bun wearing a purple kimono came into the room, serious expression on her face. She looked elegant despite just getting off of a plane, and

"Nadeshiko. Rima as well." Nagihiko froze.

"M-Mother! Welcome home!" Rima and Baaya slowly looked to him as Nagihiko feigned a smile before the woman, and then looked to one another fearfully. Neither of them could have possibly fathomed just what he could have been thinking at that time.

"Have you practiced your dancing for today?"

"…My what?" She didn't look too pleased by Nagihiko's statement. "O-Oh! My dancing! No, mother, I just recently woke up, and I was about to take Rima home…"

"I would really like for you to practice a bit before you go out with your friend…" Nagihiko went a bit stiff. How was he supposed to say no…?

* * *

Nadeshiko, Kukai and Ikuto stood in the city, allowing the downtown crowds to swiftly pass by. Ikuto hated it with a passion, but he didn't care. He was only there to get Nagihiko and Nadeshiko to switch back, then get back to his room and try to avoid more conflict, if only for this one day. It was a Saturday. It was the perfect day to relax.

"Nagihiko sure is taking his time…" Kukai stated.

"Maybe he got caught up in something?" Nadeshiko began. Then her eyes widened. "Oh my goodness!"

"What is it, Nadeshiko?" Ikuto asked.

"I completely forgot! My mother was supposed to be flying back in from Europe today! She may have already figured Nagihiko out!"

"OH GOD!" Kukai exclaimed. "Then Nagihiko's gonna get fattened up and eaten?!"

"My mother is NOT a witch!" Nadeshiko hissed.

"Whatever the case, we need to go and try to find him. If she suspects anything, then there's gonna be massive trouble. Nadeshiko, you and Nagihiko are from a primogeniture type family, where do you live?" Ikuto asked.

"I live not far from here, maybe fifteen minutes away, in a traditional Japanese style house."

"Take us there, right now."

* * *

-Nagihiko-

_**Mother watched my every step as closely as she possibly could while I was dancing. Traditional Japanese kabuki… something I had spent a majority of my life mastering, and in the end, she still chose my sister as the heir. Every move I made, I tried as best as I could to imitate Nadeshiko's fluid grace, and prayed that she wouldn't notice the difference.**_

_**One… two… One by one…**_

_**Slowly, the patterns of the music flowed along with my rhythmic movements. I had been doing secretive training of my own without realizing it—all of my fighting against the Nightwalkers this past year had strengthened my balance to the dancing world.**_

"Good… very good…" Nagihiko's mother began, continuing to look a bit serious. Rima just stared at Nagihiko in awe. The resemblance between him and Nadeshiko was completely unmistakable, especially when he was decked in a traditional kimono and had his hair tied back.

The elegance that the twins had split apart at birth… was identical now.

_**And then… I made one mistake. My foot slid in the wrong direction. It was a mistake only I had made constantly. Mentally, I froze, and then looked to my mother slightly. She looked a bit appalled, but then her face darkened a bit and she stood up.**_

"Nadeshiko."

Nagihiko stopped dancing. "Y-Yes, mother?"

"That step you missed…" Nagihiko's heart began to race as she came closer and closer to him. Then his mother reached out a hand and tugged on his hair a bit harder than he had expected, yanking out the bow. "Only… Nagihiko could have missed that step." She pushed him to the floor, and Nagihiko glanced back at her slightly, terrified.

_**She knew…! She noticed the step…!**_

"Wait!" Rima exclaimed. "Mrs. Fujisaki, I-"

"Did you know about this, Rima?" She asked sternly.

"I-I-"

"Leave her alone, she had nothing to do with this." Nagihiko said, now speaking in his normal voice. Slowly, he got to his feet. "This is between me and Nadeshiko." Before Nagihiko could say another word, his mother had slapped him across the face, and he stood completely still, letting his hair sink over his eyes.

"Lady Nojiko-!" Baaya exclaimed before the woman held up a hand to silence her.

"You were FOOLISH for coming back here! Everything was going perfectly fine for us, and Nadeshiko was going to be able to live a happy life!"

"She may have been able to live a happy life…" Then Nagihiko looked up, full of rage, tears rolling down his face. "But what about me?! You could never sit here, lie to my face and tell me that you don't care what happens to your own child! What person… what human being could call themself a parent and turn around and say that?!"

Rima was appalled by Nagihiko's words.

"I want you out of this house and my daughter RETURNED." Nojiko hissed. Rima stepped in front of Nojiko, holding her arms out in front of her as if to protect Nagihiko.

"…Please hear him out, Mrs. Fujisaki."

"I thought so much better of you, Rima. How could you ever help a boy like this?!" Nojiko hissed.

"…He's my friend." Rima stated. "And your son. How could you not?" Just as Nojiko was prepared to strike Rima, her wrist was grabbed. She glanced back and before her stood Kukai, a blank expression on his face.

"Hold on a second. I don't think you have the right to harm someone else's child… or have the correct mindset to harm your own."

"Ikuto! Kukai!" Nagihiko beamed.

"Nadeshiko!" Rima grinned, running up and clinging to the girl. Nadeshiko giggled and then pat her head, smiling a bit.

"Ikuto? Your cat-like senses, if you would."

"I-Ikuto? Ikuto Tsukiyomi-?"

Ikuto took one whiff of the scent she harbored. "Why, Miss Nojiko… Is that alcohol I smell on your tongue…?" Nadeshiko slowly looked over to her mother, a bit appalled.

"Mother… I thought you decided to quit drinking." She hissed.

Nojiko looked a bit disheartened. Kukai released the woman, and then walked over to Nagihiko. "Come on. Let's get out of here. We've waited a long enough time as it is. Nadeshiko, you and your short ball friend there can come along." Rima glanced back at him with dark eyes.

* * *

"Have I seen you before?" Rima suddenly asked Kukai. Then Kukai looked down at her clearly before snapping a finger.

"Holy crap! You're Rima Mashiro, right?"

"Yes…"

"We had the same gym period back in Seiyo Elementary! I think we even talked once." Kukai began before pouting a bit. "You used to have a really… SHORT temper."

Rima's eyes darkened. "And you used to be a jerk!" Nagihiko wrapped his arms around Rima, cuddling her face a bit, causing her to blush furiously.

"Relax. Kukai's a very good friend of mine."

Then Kukai's mouth dropped open. "HOLD THE PHONE, YOU TWO ARE GOING OUT?! …HOW DID YOU HOOK A GIRL IN ONE DAY, NAGI?!"

"I don't know. But I don't regret a thing."

The entire time, Nadeshiko and Ikuto were completely silent, walking behind their companions. Then Nadeshiko looked to Ikuto.

"Ikuto… Do you know my mother?"

Ikuto ran his fingers through his hair slightly before looking to her again. "Well… my parents do. Aruto and Souko Tsukiyomi… maybe you've heard of them…?"

"T-The famous world-class violinist and pianist?! They're your parents?!" Nadeshiko exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hands. "I'm a huge fan!"

"Um… Yeah…"

"Sorry, so sorry…" She bowed to him a bit. "I really meant no trouble."

"It's okay." Ikuto walked ahead, his hands in his pockets and a grim looking expression on his face. "Already forgot about them months ago..." Nadeshiko was a bit surprised.

"…You can't really mean that, can you…?"

* * *

The five stood in the park, prepared to part ways.

"Well, we'd better be heading back now." Nagihiko began. "Rima… it was great meeting you. And I promise you both that I'll come back to visit again."

Rima smiled. "Nagihiko…"

Nadeshiko just giggled a bit. "We'll definitely hold you to that."

Then the two girls waved as the boys turned to leave. Kukai and Nagihiko waved while Ikuto just turned his back and held up one hand for a bit before walking ahead of the two. Within minutes, they were out of sight. Rima just sighed.

"They certainly are an interesting trio, aren't they?"

"I find it more interesting that you and Nagihiko make an even more interesting pair. How did you two even end up getting together anyways?"

Rima blushed. "It's a really long story…"

* * *

**...Like I said... It isn't too eventful of a chapter. You get Kairi's intentions, you get some Rimahiko, maybe a little IkuNade here and there. 0_0 It's like spice to a chapter I don't like much. But now I almost WANT to add some more IkuNade. XD**

**Read and review!**


	10. Overload (Ikuto)

**0_0 Whoa. I got so much free time to write that in these two days, I got to release TWO chapters.**

**This one's another Ikuto chapter, because, obviously, Ikuto is our main character here. XD But don't worry, I won't leave anyone else in the dirt. **

**This is actually a chapter I planned out in a notebook, and one that I personally put my own thoughts into in some cases based on my own experiences.**

**I hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

_**Chapter 9: **_

-Ikuto-

_**A month went by since Nagihiko and Nadeshiko played switcheroo. And after Nagihiko got back, all that seemed to run through his mind was Rima. I actually found it rather cute that he had a girlfriend… until I started thinking about Amu a lot more.**_

_** Every day that passed me by, I missed her more and more. It was amazing I was able to stay sane for this long, to be honest.**_

"You know, Amu's birthday is on September 24th." Kukai began, taking a few bites of his garlic bread. "If you're thinking about her so much all the time because of Nagihiko, why don't you go and visit her then? I think she'd be happy."

_** I glanced up. Every now and again, Kukai made good points. But at the same time, I pondered over the date. It was…September 23**__**rd**__**. It was the day before Amu's birthday. And so, I decided that I would be the first to wish her happy birthday, directly at midnight.**_

_** I spent that entire day thinking of what I could talk to Amu about; finally around eleven at night, I snuck out of the guild and went down to Midorizuma Cemetery, deciding to play laments for the restless souls with my violin to pass the time. Then just as I was prepared to begin, the song Puzzle came to mind…**_

"…_Play me a song… Play me just one more song…"_

_**Slowly, I let the violin hang at my left side, the bow in my right hand. I couldn't bring myself to play anymore… I didn't know why, but I found it hard to pick up my violin whenever Amu came to mind. I let the violin seep back into my hand and made my way to Amu's grave.**_

_**But when I arrived…**_

_**Someone was already there, waiting.**_

Ikuto drew his scythe and crept up towards the figure. Just as he got close, the figure turned around and the two ended up locking weapons.

Then Ikuto snapped out of it. "KAIRI?" The samurai blinked a few times before backing off.

"Tsukiyomi… I-I… I'm sorry, I didn't know…" Both boys put their weapons away.

_**Kairi and I hadn't done much talking since the incidents with Nadeshiko had taken place between us, if any at all. **_

_**We would pass each other in the halls some days during lunch, glare at one another a good time, then go on about our ways. Once, Kairi even just waved a bit. **_

_**I found it hard to figure him out.**_

"What… are you doing out here?"

Kairi's face went cherry red before he slightly glanced towards a grave. "No matter of importance. I-I will be going now…" Then he quickly scurried off. Ikuto looked confused.

"What a weirdo…"

Then he looked down to Amu's grave and was about to open his mouth to greet her before his gaze caught something in particular. There was a pink lily on the grave. Immediately, Ikuto whirled around and looked back to Kairi. The boy was already heading back towards the building.

_**Kairi WAS in love with Amu before she died… There was no other reason he would be like me and go through the lengths of bringing a flower every time he visited. It irritated me…**_

"_You have a lot of nerve, Ikuto Tsukiyomi."_

_**KAIRI irritated me.**_

Ikuto knelt down and grabbed the lily from the grave, tearing it apart and then stomping it into the ground out of pure rage. Then he dropped the white rose he had in his hands near the grave and stormed off, throwing the pink petals over another grave.

_**When I got back to the guild, I didn't say anything about what had happened to anyone. I couldn't even bring myself to say it to Kukai and Nagihiko. Instead, I just returned to my room and stared at the necklace I had given to Amu. I always kept it in my back pocket so that a piece of her would always guide me…**_

_**I wasn't going to accept Kairi loving her. I couldn't.**_

* * *

_**Another month went by, and I continued holding my tongue about Kairi. Every time Kukai and Nagihiko asked what happened that night… I changed the subject. Finally, they decided to drop it all together, and we went back to our average talks. Then, Halloween came by.**_

"Hey, you, Nagihiko and I should go out tonight! It's Halloween, it's evening, there's gonna be hot girls in skimpy costumes! We GOTTA go!" Kukai beamed.

"…First of all, that may not even be the case with the girls. Second, I've never really been into that kind of thing, going out on Halloween. It's too chaotic. There's just going to be a lot of people running around asking for candy."

"Not where we're going~" Kukai pulled out three ticket slips. "Ta-da! Check it! Limited edition seats to a party at Club G-String tonight! All the industry's up and coming idols will be-"

"Not interested."

"You didn't even let me get to the good part yet!"

"Not interested…" Ikuto repeated, a bit more smoothly this time.

Kukai slumped. "Aw, but don't you wanna see Utau? She's the one who sent them to me…"

"I'd rather not enter a place called G-String, thank you."

"The name shouldn't matter, seeing Utau should! We're going, you mopey stick in the mud!" Ikuto just sighed and rolled his eyes at Kukai's persistence.

They went to get Nagihiko only to reach his room, knock on the door and find a sickly pale, red-nosed dancer on the other side with tissue in his hand. Kukai looked mortified.

"Dude, you look HORRIBLE!"

Nagihiko shot him a glare, coughing slightly into the tissue before speaking. "Thank you for that wholesome insight, Kukai…"

"Sounds like a pretty bad cold. Are you going to be all right?" Ikuto asked.

"Yeah… I just made the mistake of going out to fight in thin clothing. It's the season for this anyways, and I just let my guard down this year. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

"Bummer, man, we were gonna invite you to an idol party tonight…" Kukai mumbled. Then Nagihiko's face went a bit stale.

"…If you happen to see someone called the Prince of Enka, get me an autograph, that's all I want for this cold to be worth it."

"I'll see what I can do for you, Nagihiko." Ikuto replied.

"You guys are awesome!"

* * *

Later that evening, Ikuto and Kukai stood in line outside of the club, Ikuto wearing his hooded black cloak over him. He kept the hood over his head, which made him appear more mysterious towards the crowds before him. Luckily, it was dark, no one would know his face.

"Man, I can hear the bass from all the way back here. I wish I was able to perform like the idols too…" Kukai began. "Utau's pretty lucky, huh?"

"She didn't have luck. All it took was her admiration and skill. She worked hard to get as far as she has now… and I'm really proud of her."

Kukai managed a smile, folding his arms across his chest. "I almost never hear you talk like that. Utau's pretty important to you, huh?"

"Oh look, the line's moving."

After about fifteen more minutes, the two entered the club. It wasn't empty, but they had enough space to maneuver about, and Ikuto now knew why their tickets were limited.

"So, where do you think Utau is?"

"She won't be hard to find." Ikuto pointed his thumb behind them, towards the stage, where fans were already cheering her name.

The girl came onto the stage wearing a short black strapless dress, her hair tied into her usual pigtails, held back with black ribbons. Utau waved to the crowds with a bright grin on her face.

"Good evening, and happy Halloween!" The crowd cheered again. "I'm Utau Hoshina, and for you I sing a brand new song. You all are the first to hear it!"

"She has great stage presence." Kukai said.

"Heaven in the Hell." Utau stated before cuing the music. Ikuto let the sounds of the electric guitar fill his ears, followed by Utau's strong enka voice.

[Heaven in the Hell-Nana Mizuki] _**{A/N: Go listen to this song. I'm actually playing it now as I write this. 0_0 It is SO good.} **_

The two watched and listened intently to Utau's song, both feeling a sort of warmth from her. Then Ikuto began to feel a bit uneasy.

"I-I'm gonna go get something to drink…" He walked towards a booth and ordered a bottle of water. Just as he had completed his order, his vision blurred slightly. Feeling dizzy, he gripped to the booth as he stumbled.

"Are you all right?" The woman running the booth asked.

"Y-Yeah, just feeling a little dizzy…" Ikuto didn't know why, but he had really begun feeling nauseous all of a sudden. The woman gave him the bottle.

"On the house."

"Thank you…" As Ikuto walked off and put the bottle to his lips, his hands shook furiously. He managed to slip some down his throat before he rejoined Kukai.

Kukai immediately took notice of his friend's features. "Whoa… You don't look so good. You're kinda pale…"

"I'm just feeling a little worn down, don't worry about me."

"Already?" The two glanced back and found Utau standing before them. "Sorry, Ikuto, I wouldn't have even suggested you come if I knew you weren't feeling well…"

"No, it's okay, I'm okay." Ikuto replied. "You went through all of this trouble, we may as well stay here a bit longer, have a few drinks."

Utau just gave him a smile. "Well, okay, if you say so. That sounds fun. I have to be back home by eleven anyways."

* * *

Half an hour of leisurely talking and cup after cup of sodas went by before things began to take an odd turn at the G-String Club…

"Whoa, dude, that's the most realistic zombie costume I've ever seen!" Ikuto slightly glanced back in time to see someone tug on another person's arm… only for the limb to completely fall off, rotted to the core. Multiple people around the scene let out shrieks of terror. Ikuto knew the creature well, as he battled them each night.

"Kukai, it's a Nightwalker!" Ikuto exclaimed.

"What?! How did it get HERE?!" The Nightwalker lunged onto one of the people in the crowd, biting into their neck. Blood splattered all over the floor, and Ikuto noticed bones popping out of the victim's neck, horrifying him. Then the person began to decompose, his body rotting as he stood up.

"Oh my god!" Utau cried out, covering her mouth with her hand.

"He-He changed…!" Kukai hissed. Within seconds, people were making a V-line for the entrance, and the Nightwalker continued to attack the innocent people. Ikuto drew his scythe, holding it out in front of him. Utau was bewildered by the sight.

"Kukai, take Utau and get out of here!"

"But what about you?!" Kukai exclaimed.

"I'm asking you as a friend to protect her! Now go!"

"Got it!" Kukai took Utau by the hand and led her off. Utau glanced back towards Ikuto as he began cutting the corpses down with the scythe.

More appeared in place of the creatures he eliminated, and Ikuto grit his teeth before rapidly slashing at the Nightwalkers and letting them fall to the ground. Ikuto let out heavy breaths and tried to look for an opening as more came at him, rubbing his blurry eyes.

On the floor were a box of matches from one of the chain smokers. Then, he had an idea. He scanned the area for any traces of alcohol left over, then leapt over a booth. Indeed, he found one full bottle hidden under it and popped the cap.

"Oh man… I'm really gonna hate this…" He lit a match, then poured a decent amount of the bitter tasting liquid down his throat, then blew the flames at the Nightwalkers. They didn't take any effect. He slightly gagged before wiping his mouth. "Damn…!" Then Ikuto decided to light another match. He ripped a bit of his cloth, dropped it into the bottle and then dropped the match inside, throwing it at the Nightwalkers and ducking down, covering his ears. It caused an instant inferno that set not only the Nightwalkers, but the entire club on fire.

Ikuto crawled out, gazing at the flames for a bit. As he started to get up, he immediately dropped back to his knees, vision still blurring from exhaustion and alcohol. Then he felt someone tug his arms and pull him away from the flames.

Outside, rain poured and thunderclaps roared. Ikuto blinked a few times, then looked up and noticed Kukai as the one supporting him. Then he looked forward and saw Utau not far away, under an umbrella and wearing Kukai's hooded jacket over her. She ran over, covering them both with the umbrella.

"Ikuto! Thank goodness!" Ikuto hiccupped.

"Sorry, can't focus… Too much booze…" He still had a decent mindset, even if the words were currently slurring together.

"…We should probably get back, Utau." Kukai stated. "I'm really sorry about all of this."

"I'm just glad that we're all okay." Kukai helped Ikuto to his feet.

"We'll see you around, okay? Say good night to Utau, Ikuto."

"Good night to Utau, Ikuto…" Ikuto mumbled, causing Kukai to snicker. And what made it funnier for Kukai was that Ikuto was completely serious as he said it.

"Yep, he's tired and a little drunk. I'll take care of him though. Good night!"

Utau smiled. "Good night, Kukai." As Kukai and Ikuto left, Utau sighed. Then her phone vibrated in her back pocket. A text message. She opened her phone, scanned the contents and immediately her eyes grew bewildered.

* * *

_**The following day, I woke up to my entire body aching. One step out of bed made everything in my body jolt. All of the pain had jumped into my legs. I didn't feel sick, and I hadn't been injured lately, so I was a bit concerned about this. Then the nausea set in again and I raced for the bathroom. Then I paused as I reached the toilet, slowly got back up and rubbed my temples. It didn't take me long to realize something was really wrong and I immediately went to the infirmary.**_

"All right, Ikuto, let's see the damages. I'm going to start by checking your vitals." Ikuto just sat and complied with the tests the man decided to give him. "So, you stated to me that you've been feeling dizzy and today you woke up with body aches."

"Yes… And I've been really nauseous…"

"Open, please." Ikuto did as instructed. Then the physician placed a thermometer under the boy's tongue. Ikuto remained silent as the physician began writing information down on a clipboard. Then the thermometer went off, and the physician took it from Ikuto, scanning it.

"Hm… Seems you have a slight fever." Once again, Ikuto was silent. "Tell me, Ikuto, have you been feeling any irritation or depression lately?"

Ikuto shrugged a bit. "I feel the same as I do every day, so... Maybe I have been a bit… irritated by everything…"

"Then, is working for the Gravekeepers overwhelming you at all? I understand that you are making a name for yourself among the ranks."

"…Maybe a little…"

"What about your eating patterns? Are you eating enough?"

"I mainly just eat lunch…"

The man sighed a bit. "All right. That's all I need to hear. Normally, I would have given the suggestion that you have a stomach virus based on your symptoms… However, I believe that the cause of your mental strain is stress overload. Perhaps you have had too much on your mind and it's ultimately begun taking a toll on your health recently. I would suggest that you take a few days to rest before you return to your duties, otherwise it could take an even more damaging effect on your body. I will put in an order to the head for you."

"I understand…"

"There are multiple illnesses that often build up from stress, and there are also some blood-line illnesses that can develop early on based on your family history, such as if a parent was diabetic or had high blood pressure."_ **{A/N: This is where my personal experiences-well, okay, not so much mine, but my boyfriend's. When he was 17, he had a lot of stress overload, and eventually it brought on an early case of diabetes.}**_

_**I was surprised. Here I was, nearly sixteen years old and already stressing enough that it was damaging my health. I didn't know how I was going to be able to stop it at this rate, because there was no way for me to change my environment or any ways to stop stressing...**_

"I'll try my best. Thank you."

* * *

Ikuto took the words that the physician had stated to heart as he roamed the halls. Then he glanced up and saw Kukai run over to him.

"Hey there, stoic one! Guess what! In a couple of days, I'm gonna head out and meet Utau, and- …Whoa. Are you okay? You look kinda… I don't know…"

Ikuto sighed, rubbing his temples. "I'm feeling a little sick, don't mind me. What were you saying about meeting Utau…?"

"…Never mind what I said. Are you doing okay, sure you should be up?"

"I just left from the infirmary…"

"What's the damage?"

"Well, I've got a bit of a fever, and I've been feeling nauseous to the point where it makes me dizzy… He said I might be dealing with a case of stress overload and it's started to damage my health. He told me to take a few days to rest before things get any worse."

"Well, given all the fighting you've had to do and as much has been going through your mind, it's no surprise that you're overworked. I would take the doc's advice and try to ease up a bit."

"Yeah, I think I will… I'm gonna start working on that right now." Then Ikuto turned to leave. "I'll see you later on, okay?"

Kukai grinned and waved to him. "Alrighty-o! Feel better soon!" As soon as Ikuto was gone, Kukai's smile faded away and his eyes darted to the ground.

* * *

_**The next few days, I stayed in my bedroom and slept. It hadn't worked much the first couple of times I napped and then got a snack, but after the second day, I started feeling a bit better. Every now and again, Kukai and Nagihiko would come and check up on me to see how I was doing… but I noticed that something seemed to be bothering Kukai.**_

_**He was less active than usual, and he almost seemed too distant from us. Every discussion we brought up, he just listened with a distant expression. I wanted to ask him about it, but every chance I got, he seemed to jump back to normal.**_

_**Maybe he had something important on his mind too.**_

* * *

**Well, wanna know what that ending indicates? **

**That next chapter is going to be centered around Kukai. ^_^ Luckily, I already planned some of that chapter out too! And maybe, just maybe, it could also lead to the start of some Kutau?**

**Given I had just finished off one of Nagihiko's arcs in the last chapter, and I decided to throw in a bit of Ikuto angst this chapter, I figured it was time to throw in one for Kukai. That one could run... maybe a chapter or two.**

**:D Read, review, tell your friends about the story if you like it, and I'll keep working hard to update it!**


	11. Reflecting, Acting (Kukai)

**Well, here it is, the start of Kukai's first arc! I have to admit, I didn't think Kukai's back-story was as depressing as Nagihiko's, though their back-stories are depressing in two different ways, but I like how this chapter turned out!**

**Kukai's a pretty fun character to portray, so seeing him with a serious, almost depressing side is really interesting to fathom.**

**I don't have much else I can say on this, but I hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

_**Chapter 10:**_

-Kukai-

_**It was the first of November when I jolted out of my sleep in a cold sweat, the day after that Club G-String had burned down because of a Nightwalker invasion. I honestly… dreaded that day to no other, the first of November. Why?**_

_** Because that was the day I was taken by the Gravekeepers, two years ago to this day. I still wonder why I was so special to be taken into captivity by them…**_

_** I remember it all so clearly…**_

Kukai slowly curled up on his bed, wiping the sweat from his forehead before staring up at the ceiling. He couldn't tell them… he couldn't explain this day.

_**I was born in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, the youngest of five siblings, and one of only two with some sort of athletic ability. The only other one was my oldest brother, Kaidou. We always used to compete with one another, and a majority of the time I ended up losing. And then, he would tease and scold me while my other brothers Shuusui, Unkai and Rento all just loved watching us compete. **_

_**Our parents would always record the events and laugh at us… I still think that my brothers keep those videos in the house.**_

Kukai managed to get out of bed, and then he immediately went to the dining hall. It was empty. Good. That was just the way that he wanted it. What time had it been…? He looked to the clock ticking away carelessly on the wall.

5:30 A.M.

_**While Kaidou would tease me, it was obvious that he was more supportive of me and my goals. And when I entered the fifth grade, I joined the Seiyo Elementary soccer team. I was picked as a starter, and I dedicated all of my time to getting better at the sport. Then in sixth grade, I tackled both basketball and soccer, and managed to succeed in both. **_

_**My brothers stood proud… and Kaidou and my dad were at each and every one of my games.**_

_**Then one day when I was halfway through my first year of middle school, I was called down to the principal's office. **_

Kukai rested his head on the table, rubbing his temples.

_**I was worried. Maybe I had gotten in trouble for pulling a prank, or for breaking something with my soccer ball? But I hardly ever got into trouble—I was even on the student council, how could I have allowed myself to?**_

_**But when I reached the office, I found Shuusui standing there, looking horrified. I asked him if something was wrong, and his next words shattered me.**_

"_**Kukai… Our parents were just… murdered…."**_

_**At first, I laughed a bit. I didn't believe him for an instant.**_

"_**No way, you're kidding. Who would ever hurt mom and dad? Come on, Shuusui, why are you really here-?" Then he put a hand on my shoulder, a serious look on his face. **_

"_**Kukai…"**_

_**His eyes were blank, and every emotion in him was welling up inside, and it showed. I knew that look. He only gave that look when he was entirely serious. **_

_**Slowly, my smile faded away and I moved his hand away. "…No…" I shook my head and backed away from him. "No, you're lying!"**_

_**Then, I ran.**_

* * *

Hours later, Kukai awoke again to the sound of dishes clattering and people chatting around him. He sat up and looked around the cafeteria, wondering how he had wandered into the area. He couldn't remember a thing. All that he remembered was waking up, and then… Nothing.

"…I must have been having a weird dream… I hardly ever do this…" He got up and went into the halls, hands in his pockets. His emerald eyes were locked on the white tiled floors… It was depressing to some to see the boy in such a state when he usually had so much energy, tons more than the average fifteen year old boy.

"Kukai!" He glanced back and saw Nagihiko waving towards him, a bright smile on his face. "You're up pretty early!" Kukai managed a smile when his younger companion came running over to him.

"Hey Nagi, I see you're feeling a lot better today." Nagihiko glanced up at Kukai again. Had he noticed something was off? Maybe, but Kukai didn't really care if he had.

"Yeah, I… Had a lot of rest. How did things go for you and Ikuto at that party yesterday? Did you get my autograph?"

"…Oh crap… I actually forgot about that, I'm sorry." Nagihiko continued to look at him not with distain, but with some concern. "I promise, next time."

"So, what happened?"

"…Plain to say, things were very… heated."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, the club burned down. A Nightwalker appeared right in front of everyone, started biting people and creating more of its kind, people panicked, and Ikuto had to take things into his own hands while I got people out of there."

"A NIGHTWALKER? That's insane! How could one have possibly gotten into the club? They only appear in graveyards, how-?"

"There have to be some things we haven't discovered about them." He looked to Nagihiko, serious expression on his face. He walked ahead, and Nagihiko trailed behind him. "There are things… that even the best analysts in the guild are unable to decipher because we aren't allowed any further than the graveyards we're assigned to."

"Do you think that the boss knows more about them than we could too?"

"It's definitely possible. I wouldn't count on it though, unless he happens to have gone out as well. Our time limits are short during the day." The two were silent for a while before Nagihiko finally opened his mouth to speak.

"Kukai, are you okay? I don't think I've seen you this serious in a long time."

Kukai then sighed before looking to Nagihiko. "Honestly… I don't think I am. I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I think I need to take a walk by myself right now. I'm gonna head into the city."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." Then he gave a half-hearted smile. "Catch you later."

* * *

_**I remember exiting the double doors and racing down the track field and didn't stop until I found myself far away from the school, in the forest just outside of the neighborhood. Running away from the school was the most fatal mistake I had ever made in my life.**_

Kukai stared at the ground as he made his way through the streets of downtown Tokyo. It was just after eight in the morning, and it was likely that most of the people in the city were rushing to reach their perspective schools or jobs. He somewhat wished he still had that issue.

_**I leaned up against one of the largest tree trunks in the forest and then slumped to the ground, tears still fresh on my face.**_

"_**Mom… Dad… It's not true, right…?" Then I heard footsteps crunching against the wooden branches, and froze slightly. "W-Who's there?!"**_

_**Out stepped a man with orange, curly hair tied back into a ponytail past his shoulders, clothed in a forest green trench-coat over a black long sleeved shirt and black ripped jeans. He smirked.**_

"_**Is your name Kukai Sohma?" I blinked a few times.**_

"_**Who wants to know?" The man held up an arm and a large sword seeped out of his arm, shimmering in the dim sunlight.**_

"_**I've been assigned to bring you with me." My heart began to race furiously as the man stepped closer and closer towards me. My eyes darted in every direction before locking on a pile of twigs and rocks. Out of pure instinct, I kicked them as hard as I possibly could. The man slashed right through them, a fierce look on his face. "That wasn't very smart." **_

_**As soon as those words came out of his mouth, I went running. But I didn't get far from him. He grabbed me by my shirt collar and threw me backwards into the tree I was standing under. Everything went black instantly.**_

Kukai suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, and glanced back slightly. There stood Utau, a concerned look on her face. His eyes widened a bit as soon as he saw her face about an inch or two below him—he had been a bit taller than her, and he was still going to grow. She was so elegant, even when she looked so concerned about him.

"Utau… Hey there…" He breathed out. "You scared me."

"You look kind of down. Are you all right?"

"Oh, um… I'm just…" Kukai let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his temples. "I'm just doing a lot of thinking, it's not exactly a good day for me…"

"…Do you want to talk about it? I'm willing to listen."

"I don't want to burden you. You're probably busy."

"Actually, this is my off-time. Come on, I'll buy you some ramen. What do you say?"

"…Are you trying to bribe me with food?"

Utau gave a slight smile, and giggled. "Is it working?"

"Maybe a little. But just a little." Kukai joked, managing a smile. For some reason, it felt easy to act in such a way around Utau. Maybe it was because she and Ikuto were close and he felt close to her for that reason? Or maybe it was because of his laid back nature?

Heck, either way he was getting ramen with Utau Hoshina.

* * *

The two sat in a small ramen shop, eating bowls of tonkatsu ramen. Kukai slightly glanced over at Utau and noticed that her bowl was already half empty after a couple of minutes. He was a bit surprised—she really had an appetite despite being so petite. Then he looked at his own bowl—same amount of food left.

"Wow. I wouldn't have taken you as someone that had a big appetite." Utau wiped some salt off of her lips with a napkin before looking up at him.

"There's a lot you wouldn't know about me. You're just a kid, after all."

"What? How am I a kid?! Aren't we around the same age?"

"Even if you are older or not, you are still a kid." Utau replied, taking a few more bites of her ramen. Kukai looked at his food again and then ate it all down quickly. Utau had finished at the same time as he did, looking to him.

"Tell you what. Let's make things interesting. Let's have a ramen eating contest. If I win, you have to stop calling me a kid. Forever."

"Raising the stakes, eh? And if I win?" Utau began.

"Um… I'll buy you as much ramen as you can eat!"

"Nah, that's not good enough. I eat a LOT, and I'd feel sorry for you if you lost all of the little bit of money you had. Try again."

"Hm… Maybe… If you win, you can kiss me." Utau's face went bright red before she looked away from him, a bit of anger on her face.

"Y-You're such an idiot, and that quality is just adding to your childish notions! W-Why would I ever want to kiss YOU?"

"Is that a yes~?" Utau sighed, rolling her eyes. _**{A/N: All I can say... Ehehehe.}**_

"I'd like two more tonkatsu ramen, hard noodles, side of rice for both." Kukai grinned like a madman inside—she had taken his offer, he assumed. He was gonna win this for sure no matter how the results went. The bowls were set down in front of the two. Utau and Kukai looked to one another and lifted up their chopsticks simultaneously.

"…Three… Two… Go!" The two began scarfing down their food, even attracting the attention of the people eating their food at the booths behind them. After a few minutes, Kukai set his bowl down, feeling accomplished. "Done!"

But Utau was already wiping her mouth off with a napkin, smirking. "Took you long enough."

Kukai was appalled, slamming his face into the table slightly. "Aw man!" Then she stood up and paid for the food.

"Let's get out of here."

"Sounds good to me." Kukai stood up as well.

* * *

"So, what were you so depressed about?" Utau asked as the two sat in a park.

"…Today is the second anniversary of my parent's death. It's also the day that I was brought into the Gravekeepers. I guess it just still bothers me a bit." Utau gripped his sleeve a bit.

"Kukai… I'm sorry… Really, I am, I couldn't…" Then Utau sighed a bit, looking away from him. "Then again… maybe I CAN imagine it…"

"What? What do you mean by that?"

"I… I got some news last night after you and Ikuto left. My mother, she… she's always had bad health, and yesterday she had to be rushed to the hospital. The physicians told me that her heart is weakening too much… They said that she might not make it through the month…" Kukai was stunned. Out of the blue, he gripped her hand, staring at her with mortified eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Utau…" He whispered.

"It's all right… You don't have to worry about it-"

"No, it's not all right… I know how hard all of this must be for you…" He gently brushed his fingers along her cheek. "If there's anything I can do, anything at all, I'll definitely come to you." Utau stared at him for a bit of time before tears filled her eyes. Kukai leaned towards her, but as their lips were about to touch, he pulled back and sighed. "…I can't do it…"

Utau looked a bit disappointed. "Why…?"

"Is it sad that I've never kissed a girl before?"

"No… I think it's a bit… surprising. Cute, but very surprising..." Utau cupped his chin in her hand and gave him a slight smile. "Want me to show you?" He had a boyish smirk on his face.

"I would be honored to learn from Utau Hoshina." And then Utau gently pressed her lips against his and they kissed again… and again… until the sounds of the birds had completely dimmed out.

An hour went by before Kukai decided it was time he got back to the Gravekeepers. Utau decided to walk him halfway through downtown.

"It'd be great if we could do this again sometime." Utau began.

"By that, do you mean the ramen eating contests or the kissing in the park?" Kukai joked, hands in his pants pockets.

She giggled. "Maybe a bit of both would be nice. It's… good quality time, after all."

"I'd like that. I'd like that a lot. We can definitely have another day like this when neither of us are too busy with work."

"Well, I guess this is where we part ways for now." Utau stated, coming to a halt. "It was great seeing you again, Kukai." Kukai didn't say anything, just leaned forward and kissed her forehead. She blushed lightly. "…Can I ask you to do me a favor?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"Can you… not tell Ikuto about what happened today?"

"About your mom? Why not?"

"I don't want him to worry too much…" Kukai just stared at her. "Please… Promise me that you won't tell him." Kukai just sighed.

"All right. But I trust that he'll find out another way…"

"I know that he will. Thank you, Kukai." Then the two parted ways.

* * *

As if on cue after re-entering the guild, Kukai noticed Ikuto roaming the halls and grinned, racing over to him. "Hey there, stoic one! Guess what! In a couple of days, I'm gonna head out and meet Utau, and-" Then Kukai took notice of how pale his companion appeared, spare the light tint of red in his cheeks. "…Whoa. Are you okay? You look kinda… I don't know…"

Ikuto sighed, rubbing his temples. "I'm feeling a little sick, don't mind me. What were you saying about meeting Utau…?"

"…Never mind what I said. Are you doing okay, sure you should be up?"

"I just left from the infirmary…"

"What's the damage?"

"Well, I've got a bit of a fever, and I've been feeling nauseous to the point where it makes me dizzy… He said I might be dealing with a case of stress overload and it's started to damage my health. He told me to take a few days to rest before things get any worse."

"Well, given all the fighting you've had to do and as much has been going through your mind, it's no surprise that you're overworked. I would take the doc's advice and try to ease up a bit."

"Yeah, I think I will… I'm gonna start working on that right now." Then Ikuto turned to leave. "I'll see you later on, okay?"

Kukai grinned and waved to him. "Alrighty-o! Feel better soon!"

As soon as Ikuto was gone, Kukai's smile faded away and his eyes darted to the ground. Kukai wouldn't have imagined that last night had affected Ikuto so much so quickly. Now there was no way he could bring up Utau's issue to him.

* * *

**So now you've learned why Utau was depressed at the ending, and you also learned why Kukai seemed so deep in thought at the end of the last chapter. But there's still more to this arc to come. ^_^**


End file.
